32 TIIK BKOWX-TAIL MOTU. 



Mr. Daniel E. Chaso, a ■well-known Soincrvillc; citizen, 

 lias written us : — 



^ly whole family suffered from poisoning by these ereatures, 

 the skin being so badly irritated that we were obliged to bathe in 

 soda water, salt water, ete. AVe felt the effeets of the poisoning 

 all summer. When my house was painted, the painters, in scrap- 

 ing under the i-ives, started up the hairs of the caterpillars, and 

 wc were thus all more or less i)oisoned again. 



.Mrs. .1. l-cland, .".77 AVashiiiuton Strci't, iSoiucrvillc, 

 suy> : — 



The caterpillars are very dangerous, because they are so poison- 

 ous. They seem to poison everything they touch. We had to 

 wash all ^ egetables brougiit in from the garden. jMy son, who 

 worked in the garden a great deal, was l)adly poisoned ; his neck 

 was a solid mass of rash. The rest of the family were also 

 poisoned in a less degree. 



Mi.s.s Mc.Mahon, livinir tit ()o2 Soinerville Avenue, Somer- 

 ville, say.-^ : — 



We first noticed the caterpillars in 1897. They were all over 

 the trees. At the same time we began to have a dreadful itching, 

 from which we sulTered so much that we wore obliged to consult a 

 physicitm. 



^1 7''/j)icitl Kxjnn'lence. 



A typical experience Avith the eater})illar8 is described 

 ])y ]\li-s. ('. 1). Chase, li\ing- at 1<S Ivaloo Street, Soiner- 

 ville:— 



^Vhile cutting the liml)s from the infested trees my husband was 

 badly poisoned, his eyes iu particular being affected. In cleaning 

 the window screens in the house I was also badly poisoned; the 

 skin of my body was as much inllamcd as if a mustard paste had 

 been ajjplicd. The poisoning did not seem to come entirely from 

 contact, but the air seemed to be filled with something which 

 caused the itching and })urning sensation. Wi' were alTected dur- 

 ing the whole two months that the insect was in the larval stage. 

 In 1H97, while the house was being painted, the painters all suf- 

 fered more or less. Their distress was .so great that they were 

 obliged to stop their work and bathe the face, hands and arms 

 with soda water to get relief. Wc could not hang out the clothes, 

 a8 the hairs would cling to them, especially to the flannels, and 

 when worn they would ])adlv irritate the skin. 



