ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



large annual appropriations by the State legislature. Three hundred and twenty-five 

 thousand dollars have already been appropriated. A territory comprising something over 

 100 square miles was infested by the insect, which occurred in such extraordinary num- 

 bers as to destroy many trees and almost to threaten the ultimate extinction of living veg- 

 etation, not only wit)iin the infested ter/itory, bat in all localities to which it might 

 spread. It is unnecessary to detail the steps by which relief was brought about. Mistakes 

 were undoubtedly made at first, and it is to the wcrk of the present committee that the 

 m-iin credit is due. The infested territory has been reduced by one-half, and within the dis- 

 tricts in which the gypsy moth at present exists it is, practically speaking, a compara- 

 tively rare species. The future of the insect is, hpwever problematical. The continuance 

 of sutriciently large appropriations from the State legislature to enable the work to be 

 carried on on its present scale is doubtful, yet those in charge believe that still larger 

 appropriations are necessary to bring about extermination. They are confident, however, 

 that with sufiioient means the insect can be absolutely exterminated from the State of 

 Massachusetts. With the legislature disinclined to continue the large appropriations, the 

 methods of the comvuitttee at present pursued will have to be seriously altered. Given a 

 small appropriation of say $25,000 annually, it will become necessary to adopt some law, 

 like that in force in Oalifornia, whereby much less frequent inspection may be made, and 

 the coiumittee will have to rely in part upon voluntary observers for information. More- 

 over, thny will be unable to conduct spraying operations upon a large scale, and the expense 

 of the destruction of insects will have to be assessed upon the owners of the property upon 

 which the insects are found, provided such owners will not themselves undertake the des- 

 truction of the insects. There will be many disadvantages fr )m such a course, and in the 

 case of unproductive lands the expense will be so great that the owner will prefer con- 

 fiscation. Between some such cour.se as this and the continuance of the present methods, 

 however, there seems to be little choice, since if the appropriation were taken away the 

 insect will not only speedily reach its former destructive height, but will spread far and 

 wide over the country. It may be urged that it will be only a few years before the insect 

 will take its place as a naturalized member of our fauna and will become subject to the 

 same variations of increase and decrease as our native species, and that it will, in fact, 

 become little more to be feared than species already existing with us, particularly if its 

 European natural enemies are introduced. Against this view, however, it must be urged 

 that the gypsy moth seems an exc?ptionally hardy species and that even in Europe it is a 

 prime pest. The caterpillar is tough and rugged and seems little subject to disease and 

 to climatic drawbacks and is wonderfully resistant to the action of ordinary insecticide.';. 

 The gypsy moth larva will feed for days without apparent injury upon trees which have 

 been sprayed with Paris green or London purple in a solution so strong as to somewhat 

 burn the leaves. In fact, the committee, in the s|)raying which they are carrying on at 

 present, have found it necessary to use arsenate of lead in as strong proportion as 10 

 pounds to 150 gallons of water. The well-known vitality of previously introduced Euro- 

 pean injurious insects is apparently increased to a striking degree with this species, while 

 the fact that it feeds on nearly all plants renders it a much more serious pest than any of 

 its forerunners. Under these circumstances, therefore, any course other than an energetic 

 and well directed effort to keep the insect within its present boundary will be shortsighted 

 in the extreme, although it is very doubtful to my mind whether absolute extermination 

 will or can ever be brought about. 



New York. It is rather a stretch of the facts to classify Dr. Harris as an official 

 entomologist. The first scientific man to receive a true official commission for the investi- 

 gation of injurious insects was Dr. Asa Fitch, of New York. The New York State legis- 

 lature, during the season of 1853-54, made an appropriation of $1,000 for an examination 

 of insects, especially of those injurious to vegetation, and. authorized the appointment of a 

 suitable person to perform the work. The matter was placed in the hands of the New 

 York State Agricultural Society, and at a meeting of the executive committee of the 

 society, held at the Astor House, in New York City, May 4, 1854, the following resolu- 

 tion was passed : 



Resolved, That Asa Fitch, M.D., of Washington County, be appointed to perform the work : that he be 

 furnished with such accommodations as he may desire in the rooms appointed for the laboratory in charse 

 of the society ; and that the president and Mr. Johnson, the corresponding secretary, be a committee to pre- 

 pare instructions for such entomological examinations. 



