BURLAPPING. 23 



cheap crude oil, delivered from a cyclone burner, but not 

 ignited. The oil penetrated the crevices in the walls and 

 destroyed the eggs hidden there. These experiments were 

 so satisfactory that it will be desirable to continue them on 



a larger scale. 



BURLAPPING. 



The early date when the appropriation became available 

 permitted the purchase of burlap in advance of the rise in 

 prices, caused by the new tariff. About one thousand dol- 

 lars was thus saved. 



In April and May burlap was cut up, sent into the field 

 and applied to the trees in infested forest lands where the 

 underbrush had been cleared away. Throughout the whole 

 infested region the most work was done, in the burlap sea- 

 son, where the greatest number of caterpillars were known 

 to be. Every practicable effort was made, however, to 

 destroy, by burlapping, the few caterpillars still remaining 

 in colonies almost exterminated. This was especially the 

 case in the outer towns. 



The unusual amount of rain in June seemed to interfere 

 with the movements of the caterpillars. In many of the 

 large colonies they remained mostly among the leaves and 

 branches, instead of coming down the trunks to the burlaps ; 

 therefore, during this month the burlaps were not so effective 

 as usual. In the Saugus woods the caterpillars were shaken 

 to the ground by jarring the trees. They would then crawl 

 up the tree trunks and crowd under the burlaps, where they 

 were crushed by the workers. Had not this method been 

 followed, the trees in many localities would have been com- 

 pletely stripped. Later, when the caterpillars were about 

 to pupate, they resumed their normal habits and crowded 

 under the burlaps. When the moths had all deposited their 

 eggs the burlaps were generally removed, and many eggs 

 clustered under or near them on the trees were destroyed. 



SPRAYING. 



During May and June rains unfortunately prevailed, inter- 

 fering seriously w r ith the spraying, which, however, so 

 decimated the caterpillars that, as a rule, the sprayed trees 

 were not stripped. 



