182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



thereby relieving the property owners from annoyance and 

 damage. 



Any one familiar with the conditions existing in the dis- 

 trict infested with the gypsy moth two years ago, as compared 

 with those of the past summer, cannot but feel that great 

 progress has been made in suppressing the pest in the resi- 

 dential districts. At the same time, the condition of the 

 woodlands is sufficient cause for great anxiety. The wood- 

 lands in the area included within a radius of fifteen miles 

 of Boston are thoroughly and generally infested, and a very 

 large sum of money must be expended there if they are to 

 be protected by the ordinary methods of treatment. 



It is hoped, for the sake of these woodland sections, that 

 the work of the imported parasites may soon be apparent. 

 Large numbers of these insects have been reared at the Saugus 

 laboratory and liberated in the wooded sections, where sev- 

 eral important species are believed to have already established 

 themselves. Those most familiar with this problem — Dr. 

 L. O. Howard of Washington, who has direct oversight of it, 

 and Superintendent Kirkland — are most hopeful of its ulti- 

 mate success. 



Your committee has been active in upholding the hands of 

 the present management of the campaign against the gypsy 

 moth in every way possible. It appeared and gave testimony 

 in favor of increased appropriations at hearings before 

 legislative committees last year, and we are glad to be able 

 to say that these recommendations met the approval of the 

 Legislature. 



Your committee also favored the effort for increased na- 

 tional aid in suppressing the moths, both by correspondence 

 and personally. Congress, after full discussion, made the 

 appropriation for the year $150,000, as against $82,500 in 

 190G. 



The brown-tail moth we shall undoubtedly always have 

 with us, its strong flight and its being on the wing at the 

 season when we are likely to have strong gales making it 

 especially likely to infest and reinfest a district, even if it 

 should successively be exterminated. It is a very trouble- 

 some insect in a w 7 ay, causing great suffering to many people 



