1906.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 73. 25 



Brown-tail Moth. 



A single finding of this insect has been reported from 

 Providence. Prof. W. E. Britton of the Connecticut Experi- 

 ment Station, New Haven, states that to his knowledge no 

 findings have been made in his State. 



The two lower tiers of counties in New Hampshire are 

 generally infested with the brown-tail moth, and Professor 

 Sanderson has had specimens sent him from the White 

 Mountain region. Notable flights of the moths have been 



C 1 O 



observed at Nashua, Concord and Portsmouth. 



In Maine Prof. E. D. Hitchings, State Entomologist, 

 Waterville, has found the pest scattered along the coast in 

 various places. Portland, Rock hind and Augusta are gen- 

 erally infested, while sufficient numbers of the moths have 

 been found at Bar Harbor to warrant local work against the 

 insect. The moth has also been reported at Eastport and 

 at St. John, N. B. 



In eiffht years' time this strong-flying insect has become 



o / o v cr 



disseminated along the entire eastern seacoast of New Eng- 

 land and westward to central Massachusetts and southern 

 New Hampshire. Even Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket 

 have not escaped its visitation. 



ORGANIZATION or TOWN WORK. 



The moth pest had made itself felt so severely in recent 

 years in the central municipalities that some of them already 

 had local organizations for combating it, or at least had 

 made an attempt to destroy the nests of the gypsy and 

 brown-tail moths on street and park trees. In other towns 

 and cities, village improvement societies, women's clubs and 

 similar bodies had accomplished a great amount of good, 

 particularly in arousing property owners to the importance 

 and necessity of destroying the moths, but, in spite of all 

 this good work, there were throughout the district most 

 numerous and discouraging examples of neglected estates 

 where the pests swarmed in full force. 



The provision of the necessary funds for prosecuting the 

 work was early urged on the worst afflicted municipalities. 

 It was found that in many cases the municipal budget had 



