148 THE REPOET OF THE Xo. 36 



Comparison of Controls. 



In the first district, Yarmouth and Digby Counties, where the orchards are 

 small and widely scattered, we find it very easy to control the Brown-tails by having 

 our inspectors pick the nests from the trees in the winter. One inspection of this 

 district can be relied upon to give a decrease in ordinary years, the only increases 

 coming from the adult moths, which occasionally are blown across the Bay of 

 Fundy into the district from the New England States. This district is on the 

 whole flat country, and the normal increase very small. Evidently the adult moths 

 are for the most part blown out of the orchards in which they originated, and the 

 orchards being scattered they perish before they find other apple trees. 



In the fourth district, Kings County, etc., the orchards are large and practic- 

 ally continuous, so if a moth is blown out of one orchard it will more often than 

 not blow into another. In spite of this the large amount of spraying done, and the 

 scarcity of seedling trees makes it quite easy for our inspectors to keep the Brown- 

 tail within reasonable bounds. Occasionally we have small outbreaks in the western 

 end of this district, but a little persuasion usually results in the orchards being 

 sprayed and the Brown-tails exterminated. 



In the third district, which is situated in the eastern end of Annapolis 'County, 

 where 30 per cent, of the orchard is unsprayed and we have a great quantity of wild 

 seedling apple trees, we have great difficulty in controlling Brown-tails. In many 

 sections we have had very large increases which we followed up by very careful work, 

 often persuading the owners of the worst orchards to spray, and so obtained de- 

 creases in infestation. 



In the fourth district, or Western Annapolis County, with practically no spray- 

 ing, medium-sized orchards and plenty of wild seedling apple trees, we have had 

 great difficulty in holding the Brown-tails. Practically all of the work there has 

 ])evn done by our inspectors with no appreciable assistance, either in spraying or 

 in picking nests, from the inhabitants. 



Normal Increase in Nova Scotia. 



The coldest season ever recorded in Nova Scotia was 1913-14. The extreme 

 low temperature in the Annapolis Valley was — 21F. at Kentville, while at Yarmouth 

 the lowest was — 6.4F. ; in the most heavily infested district, i.e., near Anna- 

 polis, the lowest temperature ran — 19F. and less here. Brown-tails came through 

 with an average of about 40 per cent, winterkill. Counting the actual number of 

 nests within twenty-five yards of old nests found in 1914-15, including those that 

 gave no progeny, we found the actual increase the Province over to average 6.3 new 

 nests from each old nest^— this was not counting the number of female moths that 

 had blown over twenty-five yards from the old nests. The increase in ordinaij 

 years is much larger than this. 



Winter Drop of Nests. 



Formerly we started the inspectors at their winter work on January 1st, but 

 we found at that time a very large proportion of the nests hanging by a thread, and 

 a few of the nests gone, leaving a bit of web attached to the tree where the nest 

 liad been. We placed some nests on the ground and found that the young larva 

 lived over in them with a very small winterkill. In fact, at one station where 

 all of tlio Brown-tails su;-pended in the air were killed by the winter, those on the 



