1906.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 73. Ill 



the present year, and first wish to thank you for your kind assist- 

 ance with information, advice and inspection, and your offer of 

 work in the neighborhood of the reservations and parkways, in- 

 tended to protect them from incursions of the moths. 



During the winter and spring of 1905 a considerable amount of 

 tree and brush cutting and burning over of the ground was done at 

 the spots of most serious infestation in the reservations. This 

 cutting had for its primary purpose facilitating the work of repres- 

 sion of the moths, and incidentally improvement of the tree growth 

 and of the landscape. The result was necessarily injurious to the 

 landscape where the ground was burned over and brush temporarily 

 destroyed. In these same regions and along the parkways the 

 gypsy moth nests were creosoted, and at some points auxiliary 

 spraying was done during the summer. The result was satisfac- 

 tory in the regions where the work was done, but the amount of 

 the appropriations did not permit its being extended over an entire 

 reservation ; and therefore, although the work was carried to the 

 full extent of the funds appropriated, did not prevent the spread 

 of the moths to other parts of the reservations, especially in the 

 Middlesex Fells. 



A careful review of the situation in the early autumn made the 

 commission feel that it would be possible, with such appropriations 

 as might reasonably be expected for its maintenance, to care for 

 the reservations and parkways except Blue Hills and Middlesex 

 Fells either with its own forces or through contractors, and, in 

 either case, with your advice and inspection. In the Blue Hills we 

 were advised by you that gypsy moth colonies had been found in 

 various parts of the deep woods. As the necessity for work 

 against these pests had not been known to exist, and the superin- 

 tendent and forces in the reservation had no experience in the 

 work against them, it was deemed wise to ask you to supervise the 

 immediate measures of repression which appeared absolutely neces- 

 sary. You very kindly assigned to the work a manager whom you 

 stated to us you considered to be one of your most experienced 

 and reliable men. In the Middlesex Fells it was also decided, in 

 conference with you, that, as work had already been done by our 

 forces under special appropriations for that purpose, it was wise to 

 continue the work, omitting therefrom certain operations which had 

 a tendency to unduly affect the landscape, such as burning over 

 the ground cover, and substituting therefor other measures equally 

 effective. This work has continued energetically since September, 

 with the result that almost the entire reservation has been cleared 

 of weak sprout growth and tall growths of sorts which are nou- 



