REPORT OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 253 



to the field agent and as soon as possible the whole field force 

 was at work on this new infestation. The bushes were cut and 

 the whole infested section, covering about five acres, was 

 sprayed with oil and burned over, destroying as near as could be 

 estimated, about three-fourths of a million of caterpillars. In a 

 large rock pile in the pasture near the road was found the old 

 infestation. 



Two hundred old egg-clusters were found in this one pile of 

 rocks. This one infestation was evidently the source of all the 

 infestations at Cape Neddick. 



At first no one seemed to know anything about its origin, but 

 during the same day, as the burning was in progress, a young 

 lad shouted, "Here comes the Gipsies !" and sure enough, a band 

 of perhaps twelve teams of wandering gipsies numbering thirty- 

 five people drove into the pasture near by and went into camp. 

 On enquiring it was found that this same party had been in the 

 habit of coming here for a number of years to camp out during 

 the summer. They came from a thickly infested section of 

 Massachusetts, so that it was very evident where this colony 

 originated. From evidence shown this colony must have started 

 at least five years ago. The few remaining trees were burlapped 

 and the whole surrounding section carefully watched during the 

 remainder of the season. A thorough scout was made this fall 

 by the best experts that could be found and but a single egg- 

 cluster was discovered, and this was found on a rock in the 

 bottom of a pile on the opposite side of the road from the main 

 infestation. This was probably a cluster laid by a moth the 

 caterpillar of which had succeeded in crawling away from the 

 heat of the fire. 



This land was used by several parties from different sections 

 of the Cape for pasturing their cows. These animals were 

 driven home each night and it would have been an easy matter 

 for the young larvse to have secreted themselves in the hair of 

 the animals and been scattered about the town. 



The handling of this colony shows what can be done in the 

 line of extermination. This is the most remarkable instance in 

 the work of the season. The destruction of this one infestation 

 saved the State many thousands of dollars. 



From the colony history it will be seen that a number of 

 single ipifestations occurred where but one egg-clusfer was 



