REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 1908 43 
tion of the residential area was very gratifying, practically no trees 
either along the roads or on private estates were defoliated. Con- 
tinuing, we passed from Melrose northward and eastward to Lynn, 
thence to Salem and across to Beverly. The same conditions pre- 
vailed as were observed in the vicinity of Arlington, except that 
the injury north of Salem appeared for the most part to be more 
recent and the woodland had not suffered so much, though limited 
tracts here and there were evidently badly infested. The street 
trees of Salem, though in very bad condition a few years ago, are 
now practically free from the pest. 
The authorities are depending upon several methods for the 
control of the gipsy moth. Owing to the short season during 
which spraying is practical, an effort has been made to accomplish 
as much as possible by winter work, which latter consists in creo- 
soting egg masses on trees throughout the infested area. This is 
supplemented, in the case of woodlands, by burning over the ground 
in order to destroy egg masses which may have been broken while 
chmbing the trees or dislodged by birds or other natural agents. 
This burning is preferably deferred till early spring, after the eggs 
have hatched, and is usually preceded by cutting out the under- 
brush. The latter, if abundant, must be removed so that the trees 
will not be injured by fire. Then, by carefully controlling the 
flames, and especially by backfiring, it 1s possible to burn over a 
large area without materially injuring the forest. The extended 
area infested makes it impossible to treat all parts in an ideal man- 
ner, and a rather crude method of controlling the pest in wood- 
lands has been adopted in some cases. ‘This is accomplished by 
simply allowing the caterpillars to strip the woods and then burn 
over the ground just as the majority of them are leaving the trees 
and seeking food elsewhere. This method of procedure, while un- 
doubtedly injurious to the trees, is much jess harmful than were 
the insects allowed to propagate without restriction. 
The work with parasites conducted by the state of Massachu- 
setts in cooperation with the federal government is most encourag- 
ing. The work of 1907 has been considerably extended by pro- 
viding larger quarters and a more adequate staff. Furthermore, 
special efforts have been made to secure larger sendings from 
European countries, and a special agent was dispatched to Japan. 
This latter undertaking has proved most encouraging, in that a 
large Apanteles and a new egg parasite of the gipsy moth have 
been received from Japan, and the Apanteles at least, has been bred 
