530 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



poitjint bearin*^ upon tlie work of the State entomologists, teachers 

 of economic cntomolon^y, and others onfrajrod in practical work, it not 

 only can hardly be avoided, but it has ultimately a considerable 

 value. During the fiscal year nearly 30,000 specimens were deter- 

 mined for these workers. 



'I'ho correspondence of the bureau continues to increase, and in 

 addition to correspondence by circulars more than 32,500 letters have 

 been written during the fiscal year. 



There has also been a large increase in the publications of the 

 bureau, 75 separate numbers having been issued during the year. 



PROPOSED WORK FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1912. 



The main lines of field work against the gipsy and brown-tail moths 

 under way at the close of the fiscal year 1911 will be continued, and 

 in conjunction with the Massachusetts State forester's office and the 

 town authorities an attempt will be made to exterminate the gipsy 

 moth in a belt 10 to 15 miles wide along the western infested border in 

 Massachusetts, and a series of towns along the western and northern 

 borders of the New Hampshire and Maine infestations will receive 

 the same attention. At present there seems to be little hope of pre- 

 venting the spread to the eastward in Maine. Scouting throughout 

 the suspected territory in all of the New England States Avill be con- 

 tinued, and the inspection of forest products, and possibly of other 

 suspected material shipped from the infested area, will be continued. 

 In July, during the flight of the brown-tail moth, small forces of men 

 were stationed at several points to examine boats and trains for adult 

 brown-tail moths attracted to the lights of these conveyances, and 

 which otherwise would be taken to points where the insects are not 

 known to exist. 



With regard to the importation of parasites of the gipsy moth and 

 the brow-n-tail moth, the bulk of the importations will be still further 

 reduced, and more careful studies will be made to determine the 

 spread and mutiplication of those species already established, and 

 more diligent search will be made for those parasites introduced and 

 liberated which have not yet been recovered. The admirable suc- 

 cess of the agent who spent the last half of the previous fiscal year 

 in Italy, which so far exceeded any previous efforts of the kind, 

 indicates that it will probably be desirable to make the same inten- 

 sive studies and the same careful effort to import parasites not yet 

 established, from one or more favorable points. 



With the boll weevil, the experiments to determine the feasibility 

 of some plan for its control other than the burning of the plants in 

 the fall will require a large amount of attention, and this investiga- 

 tion will be extended to include a number of suggestions that have 

 come to light as the result of previous work. The poison experiments 

 will be continued, as well as the work with the boll-weevil parasites. 

 The results of the winter shipment of parasites from Texas to Louisi- 

 ana will be carefully followed up. The exact status of the boll weevil 

 throughout the infested area will be determined as usual and agents 

 will trace the dispersion to determine the extent of the summer and 

 autumn flights of the insect. Attention will be paid to the testing 

 of new remedies and machines. More than a score of these means of 

 control are now awaiting tests. 



