8 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



ing a better (juality for the market. The orchardist who takes 

 care of his orchard and gets it in a good thrifty condition, will 

 find that it will pay him in a very short time, as his fruit will be 

 in so much better shape for the market and he will produce 

 larger crops. We have the best soil for growing fruit that can 

 be found in any part of the world, as our soil is a granite soil, 

 well adapted for fniit growing, and we hope to see our orchard- 

 ists develop this industry until Maine becomes one of the lead- 

 ing fruit states of this country. 



INSECT PESTS. 



The Gypsy moth has been kept in check and has not spread 

 to any amount. There have been a large number of egg cUis 

 ters destroyed by the men in the work, and a thorough scouting 

 has been done in the section of the State that is infested with 

 this pest. We have had splendid assistance from M". D. AI. 

 Rogers, who is the United States Inspector for the New Eng- 

 land States. 



The brown-tail moth during the past season has been very 

 troublesome. Being very dry and hot, it was very favorable for 

 the moths to increase and there were more brown-tail nests on 

 the trees than ever before. I hope the officers of the cities and 

 towns will attend to their duty in having these nests removed 

 from the trees and bushes in their respective places, where the 

 nests are present, and thereby prevent the further spreading of 

 thfs pest over the State ; especially on the highway. W'here they 

 are allowed to remain on the trees until they come out in the 

 form of moths, they are distributed from one part of the State 

 to another by automobiles, electric cars and railroad trains 

 which attract them by their powerful lights, when they are fly- 

 ing. This is one of the most dangerous ways of spreading the 

 scourge of the brown-tail throughout the State. 



THE DAIRY WORK. 



W'c liavc been assisting the dairymen in the line of cow testing 

 work, but on account of the high j)rice of grain, the value of 

 hay, and the shortage of good help, it has been a poor year for 

 the dairymen. Most of the dairy products are handled by the 

 creameries, and they handle the product largely in the form of 



