REPORT OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 259 



R. I. College, Kingston. 

 Mr. E. F. Hitchings, Maine Agricultural Dept., Augusta, Maine. 



My dear Mr. Hitchings : — In accord with our arrangement in a 

 conversation which we had at the State House, Boston, on Friday, and 

 also with the request in your letter, which I found on my desk when I 

 returned here, I beg to present the following brief statement of condi- 

 tions of the gipsy moth infested territory in this State. 



The moth has probably been in the State for nine or ten years and 

 has now spread over a territory of 25 square miles, or perhaps a little 

 more. A State appropriation enabled us to begin a campaign against 

 the insect two years ago. As a result of our work at that time, we 

 found that the territory was much larger than was supposed at the time 

 the appropriation was given. The first appropriation was $5,000. In 

 order to cover the larger territory we received $10,000 from the State 

 last year. The United States Department of Agriculture also spent 

 approximately $6,000 during the winter of 1906-7. The Department has 

 about twelve men at work in the State at the present time. 



As a result of the past two years' work by the State and by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, the infested territory has been 

 thoroughly gone over both with burlaps and in the winter cleaning work, 

 and less than i-io as many moths in the various forms have been found 

 this year as we found the first year. 



The main infested area embraces Providence and parts of the adjoin- 

 ing towns of Cranston, Johnston, North Providence, Pawtucket and 

 East Providence. In this region we have found a few new infestations 

 this past fall and winter, but there are also a great many places which 

 were infested a year ago in which we have found no evidence of the 

 presence of the pest. Recently Mr. Rogers reports to us that his 

 scouts have found three nests in two places in the town of Cumberland, 

 in the Northeastern part of the State, and one or two nests have also 

 been found in the town of Lincoln. 



We feel very much encouraged over the results of the work of the 

 past two years and believe that if we had the necessary funds we would 

 stand a good chance of exterminating the pest. It is doubtful, how- 

 ever whether we can secure sufficient money for this purpose, and we 

 shall probably have to content ourselves with keeping the moth thor- 

 oughly suppressed so as to reduce the chances of spread and damage to 

 the minimum. 



Yours very truly, 



A. E. STENE. 



New Haven, Conn. 

 Mr. E. F. Hitchings, State Entomologist, Augusta, Maine. 



Dear Sir: — Your letter has just been received, and in reply will state 

 that the conditions are most favorable for the extermination of the 

 gipsy moth colony in Connecticut. The infested area at Stonington has 

 not increased, and only about one-third the number of caterpillars were 

 found in 1907 that were gathered in 1906, though we had twice as many 



