BURNING RUBBISH HEAPS. 193 



« Tlie Destruction of Rubbish. 



The gypsy moth, like many other insects, shows a liking 

 for a rubbish pile. Brush heaps, old stone walls and fences 

 overgrown with bushes and vines, dumping grounds, old 

 piles of lumber, tin cans, rags, paper and other debris all 

 furnish many hiding-places for the caterpillars, retreats for 

 pupating and places where the moth can deposit its eggs. 



It is remarkable how many absolutely filthy rubbish heaps 

 accumulate in the back yards of some tenement-houses. 

 These deposits of rubbish are especially noticeable in certain 

 districts of the larger towns and smaller cities. Not only 

 are all sorts of Vaste material from all parts of the house 

 from cellar to garret thrown into the back yard, but refuse 

 from the kitchen is also frequently deposited there, together 

 with a collection of empty but unclean cans, such as are orig- 

 inally used for " canned goods." Old shoes, broken bottles 

 and earthen ware, cast-off articles of apparel, corn husks and 

 the withered tops of vegetables in all stages of decay, bones, 

 fish heads, lobster and oyster shells are also common con- 

 stituents of these rubbish piles. Such heaps of rubbish, 

 often overgrown with weeds and bushes, would form an in- 

 structive spectacle for local boards of health.* Even the 

 grounds of the wealthy are not always exempt from accumu- 

 lations of rubbish, which may be found occasionally about 

 the corners of back fences or in the rear of stables. 



Amid such associations the gypsy moth delights to dwell. 

 In the many places of shelter offered by such rubbish heaps 

 the larvag can safely hide during the day, sallying forth at 

 dusk to destroy the foliage in the vicinity. 



One of the first steps, then, toward exterminating the 

 gypsy moth from any locality is to clear up the ground ; 

 burn rubbish, old lumber, wood, brush, rags and dead leaves ; 

 bury or melt up old tin cans ; tear dowh or remove stone 

 walls and old fences ; and leave the premises as clean as pos- 

 sible. Cremation is a cleansing process ; bonfires mark the 

 progress of civilization. Such work will not only aid in 



* There has been much improvement in respect to the accumulation of rubbish in 

 yards in our cities and large towns since the slight cholera scare of 1893. 



