326 ANNUAL IlKPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



WORK ON THE GIPSY MOTH AND THE BKOWN-TAIL MOTH. 



A\'(»rlv on this project has been continued under the su|)ervisioii 

 of A. F. Bur<ress. with headquarters at Meli-ose lli<rlilan(ls. Mass. 



Durinjr tlie sprini>- of 11)19 Ihe e<r^ chisters of the i:;ipsy moth 

 liatched almost perfectly, there havinf^ been practically no mortality 

 durin<r the i)revious winter, which was very mild. This fact, com- 

 bined with the unusual prevalence of hi<rh temi)eratures and favor- 

 able air currents durin<r the hatching- i)eriod, resulted in an unusual 

 spread of the insect in the youno: caterpillar sta<rt^'. 



Scoutinf^ work, which was carried on durin<; the winter, indicated 

 a much larL'^er area infested, particularly in Elaine. New IIam):)shire, 

 and Vermont, than has ever been reported heretofore. A number of 

 additional towns near the northern part of the infested border line 

 in Massachusetts were also found to be infested. Alone; the balance 

 of the border in southern Massachusetts and Connecticut only a 

 sli<^ht increase in the infested area occurred. Winter conditions in 

 New Enofland were particularly severe, there being unusually low 

 temperatures and very deep snow. This interfered materially with 

 the progress of the work of determining the condition of the infesta- 

 tion, and this factor, coupled with the increase in cost of labor and 

 supplies, prevented a large amount of necessary work from being 

 done. 



The increase in area found infested during the past year amounts to 

 4,569 square miles, 1,892 square miles being in Maine, 1,921 square 

 miles in Xew Hampshire, 824 square miles in A^ermont, 371 square 

 miles in Massachusetts, and 61 square miles in Connecticut. These 

 areas were added to the quarantined area in Xew England, and 

 products shipped from them that are likely to carry infestations 

 must be inspected before they are allowed to proceed. The quaran- 

 tined area now includes 25,316 square miles. 



A reinspection of the old colony sites in New York, Ohio, New 

 Jersey, and the western part of Massachusetts failed to indicate the 

 presence of the insect, and it is very reasonable to believe that these 

 colonies have been exterminated. 



The area infested with the brown-tail moth has been materially 

 reduced during the year and 10,677 square miles have been eliminated 

 from the quarantine — 8,492 square miles in Maine, 711 square miles 

 in New Hampshire, 714 square miles in Massachusetts, 29 square miles 

 in Ehode Island, and 731 square miles in Connecticut. The quar- 

 antined area now amounts to 18,075 square miles. 



Field-control w^ork. — Scouting of the border area indicated many 

 small gipsy moth infestations in towns outside those un*der quaran- 

 tine. In spite of unfavorable weather and scarcity of men, scouting 

 and clean-up Avork was carried on in 255 towns, distributed as fol- 

 low^s: Maine, 89; New Hampshire, 81; Massachusetts, 39; Vermont, 

 28; Connecticut, 17; and Rhode Island, 1. In addition to this, scout- 

 ing was carried on in the outside colonies in the other States pre- 

 vious!}' mentioned. During the progress of the scouting work, over 

 7,800 miles of roads were examined, as well as large areas of orchard, 

 pasture, and ornamental trees and shrubbery. 



During the early spring gipsy moth banding material was applied 

 to trees in 29 towns in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachu- 



