REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST IQI2 53 
not generally appreciated. Systematic work against this insect 
began in the city of Albany about 1900 and was shortly thereafter 
undertaken in Troy under private auspices. The spraying of 
earlier years was with a moderate power outfit and a nozzle which 
would throw only a short distance, consequently much climbing 
was necessary if the trees were thoroughly sprayed. The ultimate 
outcome was that most of the poison was applied to the foliage of 
the lower limbs, while the tops were nearly untouched, and in 
years when the treatment, for some cause or other, was so late as 
to be comparatively ineffective, most of the leaves were destroyed 
on many trees. Furthermore, there have been times when the ap- 
plication to the lower limbs, even when timely, was not sufficiently 
thorough. The result of this policy has been a progressive weak- 
ening of many trees with the death of numerous elms here and 
there. Practically all those affected should have remained in full 
vigor for a generation or two, aside from the relative few which 
may have succumbed to adverse urban conditions, such as leaky 
gas pipes, poor insulation of wires, the cutting of roots, etc. None 
ot these trees can be replaced in less than twenty-five years and 
most of them represent active growth for half a century. 
A clearer idea of the condition may be gained by a few con- 
crete examples. A canvass of the trees in Washington park, Al- 
bany, in August 1911 showed that over ninety elms of the approx1- 
mately 275 in that recreation area had been severely injured by 
this pest. The foliage of all these trees had been badly browned, 
many of the leaves had dropped or there was a considerable 
amount of dead wood. This was in a section where elms should 
find most satisfactory conditions for growth, aside possibly from a 
slightly polluted atmosphere. The area lying between the Capitol 
and Madison avenue, Eagle and Lark streets is another striking 
illustration of these unfortunate conditions. In June 1912 ten 
dead elms were observed on Hamilton street between Lark and 
Bagle streets, a distance of only five blocks. There were four 
dead trees on South Hawk street within two blocks of Hamilton 
street and four dead or practically dead elms on three sides of the 
block in which the Albany Medical College stands. The last 
named block appears to have been exceptionally unfortunate, since 
the preceditig year three stumps of what were magnificent trees 
were to be seen on Lancaster street, and three similar ones just 
around the corner on Eagle street. Most of the elms noted above 
have perished as a result of repeated injuries by the elm leaf 
