INSECTS AFFECTING PARK AND WOODLAND TREES II7 



in 1868 or 1869 by Leopold Trouvelot, who imported il in ihc course of some 

 experiments on silkworms. Justice to Mr Trouvelot compels the statement 

 that the insect escaped from him by accident, and that he did all in his 

 power to repair the mischief. Very little was seen of the pests for about 

 10 years, and then the caterpillars began to be abundant about the place 

 where they had become established, and from then on their numbers 

 increased till 1889, when Medford and vicinity were literally overrun with 

 hordes of voracious caterpillars. The infestation bordered closely on a 

 plague. An act was passed in the winter of 1890 providing for the appoint- 

 ment of a special commission and placing at its disposal $25,000, which sum 

 was subsequently increased by an equal amount. The work of that year 

 showed the insect to be present over a much larger territory than had been 

 supposed. A farther appropriation of $50,000 was made in 1891, and from 

 then till 1899 the appropriations ranged from $75,000 to $190,000 annually 

 for the purpose of exterminating this species, the total amount disbursed 

 by the commonwealth of Massachusetts for work against the gipsy moth 

 being $1,155,000. This is a large amount of money to be expended in 

 exterminating an insect, but it is very small compared to the loss we may 

 reasonably expect from the devastations of this pest. The work was hin- 

 dered from time to time by delayed appropriations, and yet, in spite of this 

 and other obstacles, good progress was being made in the work of extermi- 

 nation. Its abandonment in 1900 can hardly be regarded as other than a 

 grave misfortune. Personal examination of the infested territory in July 

 1904 showed that the insect had incn^ased so greatly in parts of Maiden, 

 Medford and Melrose as to completely defoliate the trees over considerable 

 areas. Previous to this the general results were most striking to a visitor. 

 Places, where in 1891 defoliated trees, crawling caterpillars and signs of 

 desolation had been prominent features, were in 1895 and 1898 seen to be 

 comparatively free from the pests, and the injuries to vegetation slight or 

 none. The checking of the insect over a large area was so thorough as to 

 lead many to forget its earlier destructiveness and to despise its powers. 

 At the close of 1899 the gipsy moth was known to be present in 34 cities 



