90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



because they load us to the conclusion that the creatures are 



not outside of the territory which we have in hand, unless 

 in some minor places where they have been carried by teams. 

 We, as I said before, attempted to examine this territory 

 for eggs. One reason for doing so was this very condition 

 of things. In the infested territory the caterpillars move 

 in search of food. They are spinning down from the trees, 

 crawling over fences, over the ground, onto horses and 

 wagons and cattle, and there is continual danger from 

 transportation. Now, then, we concluded that the spray- 

 ing, while it killed millions of them, was not effectual to kill 

 them all in any case, because of the fact that the eggs hatch 

 at different seasons. ( They begin to hatch as soon as we 

 have warm days in the spring. Those that are exposed to 

 the sun and in a warm place hatch quickly ; those that are 

 in some sheltered place hatch a little later ; those that are 

 under stones or in a stone wall, or in a cool, shady place, 

 hatch still later ; so that they are hatching from the 20th of 

 April to the middle of June and even later. ) Consequently, 

 in order to kill them by Paris green, you must spray over 

 and over and over again this entire territory, which is prac- 

 tically impossible. Now, then, the spreading, as we have 

 proved to our own satisfaction, being by teams, we thought 

 that must be prevented in some way, because otherwise they 

 would be continually carried about, and we could never 

 make any advance in exterminating them. We had tried 

 policing the roads, employing men to examine every team 

 coming from the territory where the caterpillars were plenty ; 

 but it was found practically impossible to stop every team 

 and carriage and examine them, and we had to give that up. 

 If we could reduce the numbers in the territory most thickly 

 infested, so that this moving about for food could be stopped, 

 we would prevent most of the danger from transportation 

 by teams. But that is a tremendous job, owing to the fact 

 that the eggs are laid in all manner of sheltered places, — 

 in sheds, under buildings that are not underpinned, "behind 

 the boards of fences, under stones in stone walls, on trees 

 and shrubs, and in every possible shelter. It is slow and 

 expensive work. We find that there is not money enough 

 left to do it. We believed it to be our duty to make sure 



