88 BOA&D OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



territory who had had some experience the previous year, — 

 bright men who were recommended to us by the town 

 authorities; but we needed more help, and we made a 

 draft upon the Agricultural College, and engaged some ten 

 or twelve students, bright, smart young men, who hud had 

 some training in entomology. The first step was to teach 

 them the habits of the creature, and where they were to 

 look for them. They were set at work searching for the 

 eggs, with a view to learning by experiment whether or not 

 that would be an effectual method of eradicating the insect. 

 At the same time they would be learning its methods and 

 habits. Some comparatively small sections of the infested 

 territory were thoroughly examined for eggs, and we are 

 happy to be able to say that where it was thoroughly done 

 scarcely any of the caterpillars appeared last season. 



Next we were anxious to find out how far this creature 

 had extended itself over the country, and we found by our 

 investigation that they infested a much larger extent of ter- 

 ritory than we had supposed. We found them in twenty- 

 one cities and towns. The towns of Medford and Everett 

 and the city of Maiden were pretty thoroughly infested, and 

 the belt of towns around those three places had more or less 

 of them. We found some places that were badly infested and 

 other places where they were few. But here was a territory 

 of something like a hundred square miles that we had to 

 look over. Arrangements were made for spraying with 

 Paris green as soon as they should hatch out in May. It 

 took a large force at an immense expense, as you may judge. 

 We employed thirty teams, each carrying a tank containing 

 one hundred and fifty gallons or more of water, and a double 

 pump with two lines of hose; with seven men to each team. 

 They worked through the season, which lasted until late in 

 July, perhaps a trifle into August. We found in June that 

 the money which was left from last year's appropriation of 

 $50,000 (about $24,000) was quite insufficient, and we asked 

 for an additional appropriation ; and the Legislature gave us, 

 without question, $50,000. That seems a large sum of 

 money, but with three hundred men on the pay roll, thirty 

 teams, office expenses, travelling expenses, and all the inci- 

 dental-, this money is now very nearly exhausted. When 



