THE BROAVN-TAIL MOTH. 21 



trees suddenly looked as though they had been burned by fh-e. 

 That summer all the foliage around here seemed to be scorched. 

 I would leave home in the morning, and the trees would be bud- 

 ding out; the next day they would be stripped clean. The cater- 

 pillars were all around the house, on the fence and even in the 

 house. I could not go into the yard without having them drop 

 on me from tlie trees. I think the brown-tail inoths are woi'se 

 than the gypsy moths. 



Mrs. J. Leland, 377 AVashingtoii Street, Somervillc, 



says : — 



The bi'own-tail moth caterpillars came in large numbers ; they 

 stripped all of our trees. My son got the nests off some of the 

 trees, but the trees he was not able to clear were just eaten up, 

 and we did not have any fruit. We had no fruit to speak of for 

 two years, except on one tree which was right near the house, that 

 we were able to keep clean of nests. The insects were very de- 

 structive. I think they killed my strawberry plants. My rose 

 bushes were somewhat eaten, too. They ate the elms across the 

 street, and then came over to my rose bushes. We had a second 

 crop of the caterpillars. They ate the leaves on grape-vines, pear 

 and apple trees. I think they are the worst creatures I ever saw. 

 We could not sit in our garden without having them crawl all over 

 us. They will even eat the vegetables growing in tlie garden ; 

 they ate the beet tops and cabbages. I think tliey are nuich Avorse 

 than the gypsy moth, because they increase so fast. There are 

 enough caterpillars in one nest to cover a whole tree, and there will 

 be a dozen or twenty nests on a tree. 



Mrs. J. A. Kincaid, (S8 Vine Street, Soinerville, writes : — 



We first noticed the brown-tail moth in 1897, when they stripped 

 the trees so that the}' looked as though they had been burned. 

 They stripped them twice that year. We have not had an apple 

 or a pear from them since. They blasted all the rose buds we 

 had. We would have been satislied if they had taken the rest of 

 the pear trees, for they are now no good. A few came into the 

 house, perhaps two or three, and we found one in the bed. The 

 caterpillars came in droves right down the driveway. I am not 

 exaggerating when I say that our fence and the gate posts were so 

 covered with the caterpillars that they looked as tliough they were 

 covered with fur. We poured kerosene oil over them, and had to 

 keep that gate closed all summer, because tliere was a tree near it 



