No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 295 



to render all the assistance that could be expected from 

 parasites. 



When spraying ceased, every effort was made to destroy 

 the creatures during the short time they remained in the 

 pupa and moth stages. The men were then set to gathering 

 and destroying eggs. It was found that in the section 

 where they were most plentiful in the spring there were 

 comparatively few, not more than one-tenth the number 

 there were last spring. An effort was made to go system- 

 atically over the entire territory, gathering the eggs ; but, 

 as only the most trustworthy men, who were also careful 

 observers, could be relied upon to do the work, it was neces- 

 sary to reduce the force by discharging all others. The prog- 

 ress was necessarily slow, as every tree, shrub, wall, fence, 

 pig-pen, hen-house, shed, and even houses and barns, in the 

 most thickly infested territory had to be carefully examined 

 by the men, and afterwards inspected by the most expert 

 among them. In doing this work use was made of every 

 possible method to save time and expense. Old stone walls 

 were burned out by the use of crude petroleum. The oil 

 was forced among the stones in the form of a spray, by the 

 use of pumps and spraying nozzles. Large tracts of land 

 covered with brush were burned over after the brush had 

 been cut and sprayed with petroleum, and in some cases 

 woodland was cut and burned over after the wood worth 

 saving had been examined and removed. The task under- 

 taken proved a costly one, and it was found that the appro- 

 priation made by the last Legislature would be insufficient 

 to complete the work. The committee believed that they 

 ought to be able to inform the Legislature with certainty 

 as to the extent of territory which had been invaded by the 

 moth. So, about the 20th of November, the leaves having 

 fallen, the whole force was put to work carefully inspecting 

 the towns surrounding the territory in which the moth was 

 found at the time of the spring inspection. This work has 

 just been completed. The eggs of the moth were found in 

 a very few places outside of the territory where it was found 

 in the spring, but in no such case were they found in any 

 considerable numbers. 



