1906.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 73. 109 



work against this insect. During the month of December 

 the removal of brown-tail moth w r ebs on shade trees was 

 actively carried on, while at the same time the egg clusters 

 of the gypsy moth high up in the trees were destroyed by 

 the same gangs, thus economizing labor. The mild weather 

 of the fall caused the leaves on apple trees to remain until 

 well into the month of December, and thus delayed in a 

 marked degree the work on private estates ; however, 

 throughout the entire month many thousand property 

 owners were diligently engaged in destroying webs. 



At this point it may be well to mention a common error 

 made by citizens and contractors in removing webs, particu- 

 larly on pear trees. In far too many cases the entire tops 

 of the trees have been cut off, leaving large, unsightly 

 stumps, seriously injuring the trees and shortening their 

 lives. On general principles it would be better, if this 

 practice is to be adopted, to cut the trees down at once, 

 rather than to leave them to decay or become matted with 

 an unsightly growth of branches. 



Since the brown-tail moth has now become so thoroughly 

 established, and promises to be a permanent resident, it will 

 be well for property owners in the future to so prune young 

 fruit trees as to induce a low heading. Trees which have 

 been grown with a low head, aside from the obvious advan- 

 tages of ease of spraying and picking the fruit, are much 

 more readily freed from the brown-tail moth webs than those 

 which have been allowed to run up to a high head. 



Another matter worthy of the careful attention of those 

 who are planting fruit trees in the village house-lot garden 

 is the wisdom of using dwarf stocks. At the present time 

 many desirable varieties of pears and apples can be pro- 

 duced on dwarf trees. It is a well-known fact that such 

 trees yield fruit of superior size and quality, take up less 

 room, allow for a greater number of varieties in the garden, 

 and, in addition, which seems highly important, from our 

 standpoint, can be easily cleared from the brown-tail and 

 the gypsy moth. 



One of the most alarming features connected with the de- 

 struction of the brown-tail moth is the fact that nearly all the 



