304 AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



spraying this spring as in an ordinani' year. The results have been 

 reasonably good in those sections, however. But we expect to find 

 some infestation there this fall and will have to follow the matter up. 



METHODS USED IN EXTERMINATING INSECTS. 



Mr. Anderson. Where did you say you depended on spraying? 

 Do vou use any other method 'i 



Mr. Burgess. We destroy the egg clusters where they are found, 

 and the egg cluster is about as big as a quarter of a dollar, a buff- 

 colored patch, laid on the under side of the branches or tree 

 trunks at the foot of the trees. It is treated with creosote whenever 

 found. We do not scrape them from the trees, because if we did we 

 would scatter the eggs, but they are treated ri^ht on the tree surface 

 with creosote, so that they are killed completely. 



Mr. Buchanan. One treatment kills a cluster, does it ? 



Mr. Burgess. Yes, sir. The scouting in New England developed 

 an increase in area in the southern part of the territory, Connecticut 

 and in the Massachusetts; and with very nearly the same area 

 infested in Vermont as in the previous year. The infested area in 

 New England on the western border, the new area, is very lightly 

 infested, and we are carrying on scouting and clean-up work in a 

 strip approximately 25 miles wide from Long Island Sound, up 

 through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. 



Mr. Anderson. You do not do any spra5nng except along the 

 border in the New England section i 



Mr. Burgess. No, sir. And then in the areas where there is the 

 greatest likelihood of infestation by wind spread, exposed areas 

 where the caterpillars might blow long distances, and a great deal of 

 the work there in these lightly infested areas can be done by creosoting. 

 There have been this fall two toAvns in New York State over the 

 Massachusetts border, in one of which there was a cluster found and 

 another one in which two egg clusters w^ere found, New^ York State 

 is very much interested and very much concerned as to what the 

 future developments are going to be. 



QUARANTINE WORK. 



Another branch of the work consists of quarantine work. All of 

 the infested territory hi New England is held under Federal (juaran- 

 tine, and all products likely to carry the moth to other parts of the 

 United States must be inspected before they proceed. 



The New York and New Jersey areas are liold under <|uarantine 

 ill cooperation with the States; the areas are so small that it is pos- 

 sible to handle them by an arrangement with the States. It has been 

 done in thut way and very satisfactory results have been secured. 



Doctor llowAKD. The commit t»M' will he interested in hearing you 

 cover the brown-tail moth situation. 



Mr. Iiri{(JESs. 1 will speak of that shortly. The experimental 

 work (((Vers dilTerent lines of work, designed to develop better field 

 methods and to bring in and disseminate the natural enemies of the 

 gypsy moth. A great deal of work of that sort along the i>arasite 

 line was done a number of years ago, and we secured from Europe 

 and fr(>m Japan sonu' (»f the most conspicuous and easily collected 

 parasites. Tliev were brought into New JMigland and have been 



