1906.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 73. 51 



While Revere does not possess any large woodland areas, 

 it is generally and thoroughly infested with both species 

 of moths. Revere is the centre of a tremendous amount of 

 summer travel to the shore reservation ; it is particularly 

 exposed to infestation from outlying districts, while, on 

 the other hand, there is great danger that the caterpillars 

 may be carried from the town and distributed over a wide 

 area. 



The town has made suitable provision for the necessary 

 work against the moths, but this has not been carried out in 



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a manner satisfactory to this office. It is apparent that con- 

 siderations foreign to the interests of the work have seriously 

 interfered with the efforts to suppress the moths. The con- 

 ditions prevailing in this town well illustrate the folly of 

 attempting to combat, under local auspices, the moth nuis- 

 ance, unless this important work can be treated as a busi- 

 ness proposition and carried on with a single purpose in 

 view. The amount of funds which any city or town can be 

 asked to appropriate for work against the moths is limited, 

 and the assistance available from the State appropriation 

 under present conditions is but small ; hence, there is all 

 the more reason why city, town and State officials and pri- 

 vate citizens should co-operate heartily in this work, with a 

 common purpose and for a common end. 



At the present writing the work in Revere is in an un- 

 finished state. The gypsy moth egg clusters have been 

 cleared from nearly all the street trees, but little work has 

 been done against the brown-tail moth, either on public 

 trees or private estates, while there exist many miles of 

 badly infested roadsides where brush should be cut and 

 burned during the winter. 



The street trees should be burlapped and sprayed next 

 season, and a vigorous inspection maintained over private 

 estates. This work, however, will be of but little value un- 

 less it can lie carried on in an efficient manner and kept free 

 from the influence of local politics. 



