112 GYPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. [Jan. 



flowering, or which have little value for their foliage. It is need- 

 less to say that the completion of this work has immensely reduced 

 the difficulty and expense of the more direct kinds of work against 

 the moths throughout the reservation, has rendered it more acces- 

 sible and useful to the general public, and will also be a help to 

 the vegetation. In addition to this brush cutting a limited amount 

 of tree cutting has already been done, and will, if possible, be con- 

 tinued during the winter, with a view to removing trees of minor 

 value, those which are badly diseased or broken, and those which 

 are crowding more valuable trees so as to be an injury to their 

 growth. This work will be conducted very carefully, and will 

 necessarily be limited to removing no more trees than will still 

 leave the forest-like appearance of the reservation, even though it 

 be necessary to leave standing more trees than perhaps the forester 

 or the gypsy moth antagonist would advise. 



In addition to the above work, which is merely preliminary work 

 intended to facilitate the actual destruction of the eggs and moths 

 themselves, creosoting of the nests of the gypsy moth was begun, 

 first, at your suggestion, on the trunks of the trees along the road- 

 sides, paths and picnic grounds much frequented by the public, 

 and next of the nests found on the ground, rocks and trunks of 

 trees to a height likely to be covered by snow during the winter, 

 on a strip along the borders of the reservation 150 feet wide. As 

 this work was finished, the creosoting of other nests upon trees or 

 plainly visible upon the rocks and ground over a strip of 500 feet 

 wide along the entire border was begun, and has now been largely 

 completed. It is the wish of the commission to continue this 

 creosotiug work over the entire reservation, so that, in addition to 

 the border strips, tree work shall be completed throughout the 

 reservation, and both ground and tree work shall be completed in 

 such sections as contain the most valuable conifers. It is the 

 intention of the commission, if funds are provided for that purpose, 

 to band the trees for a broad strip along the borders of the entire 

 reservation on the principal highways, and, if possible, throughout 

 the seriously infested portions of the district. It is also the desire 

 of the commission to spray at least the borders of the reservation, 

 and of sections containing the most valuable coniferous trees and 

 the most seriously infested sections of the reservation. It is also 

 the desire of the commission to use oiled hay and other means of 

 preventing the caterpillars from leaving the reservation. 



The work above outlined could not be begun last year until the 

 special appropriations for maintenance became available late in 

 February. These appropriations were exhausted in September; 



