PROTECTION OF THE WOODLOT 129 



along fences or in other places. These egg masses each 

 containing 400 to 500 eggs can be destroyed by wetting them 

 with creosote. Both of these insects have done great damage 

 to the woodlots in New England and are likely to spread. 

 The white pine weevil which attacks the tip shoots of the 

 white pine trees, especially the young trees in plantations, can 

 be killed by cutting off the infested leaders in the late summer 

 and burning them. The weevil lays its eggs on the leader and 

 the young develop in the growing twig. Leaders that are 

 attacked begin to change color in the late summer. They 

 should be cut at once and destroyed before the weevils escape. 

 Caterpillars can be prevented from climbing trees by binding 

 a band of sticky fly paper around the trunk of the tree. Insects 

 that eat the leaves of trees can be destroyed by spraying the 

 leaves with a poison solution, such as 10 pounds of arsenate 

 of lead dissolved in 100 gallons of water. Insects that suck 

 the juices from leaves and bark can be killed by a contact 

 poison which will smother them, such as kerosene emulsion, 

 soap and water, tobacco extract, or lime and sulphur wash. 

 When trees become badly infested with insects that have bored 

 beneath the bark, the trees should be cut and the bark burned. 

 Boring insects can be cut out with a knife where an especially 

 valuable tree is attacked, or carbon bisulphide can be injected 

 into the burrow and the opening immediately plugged with 

 putty or soap. 



Dead trees and rotting branches and stumps are often the 

 breeding places of insects that later may attack living trees. 

 The woodlot should be kept free of such material by utilizing 

 it for cordwood. The tops of trees cut should be utilized 

 in this way or piled and burned. Many methods for combat- 

 ing insects can be carried out only on the small woodlot. 

 They would not be practical with large forest areas. Where 

 insects are destroying large portions of forests the only prac- 

 tical remedy is to cut all the trees in the infested area. 



It is sometimes possible to combat an insect attack by 



