344 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



entire force during the latter part of June and July, and to 

 the constant attention at that time to this method of fio^hting 

 the moth is due the extermination of several colonies and 

 the notable reduction of many others. Later in July, and 

 during the first two weeks in August, while the insects were 

 in the pupal stage, considerable areas of infested brush land 

 were burned over. During the fall months a large number of 

 infested towns were scouted, infested stone walls were 

 sprayed with oil, and the work of treating the egg-clusters 

 in infested woodlands was prosecuted with the utmost vigor. 

 The burlap season having passed, the force was gradually 

 reduced to about two hundred men, by the discharge of 

 those employees who could be spared with the least det- 

 riment to the work. The details of the year's work and a 

 statement of the condition of the several cities and towns 

 in the infested district are given in the report of the acting 

 director. 



A phase of the work against the gypsy moth that has not 

 received the attention it would seem to deserve is the matter 

 of securing the co-operation and aid of the national govern- 

 ment. The existence of the gypsy moth in this Common- 

 wealth is a constant menace to the agricultural and forestry 

 interests of the country ; and, in protecting the property of 

 her own citizens from damage by the moth, Massachusetts 

 has also protected the property of those living in the adjoin- 

 ing States ; in fact, parts of all the New England States are 

 nearer the infested district than the more remote towns in 

 Berkshire County. The direct routes of travel leading from 

 the metropolitan district would facilitate the distribution 

 of the moth over the eastern United States, and should the 

 work of combating the insect be suspended, this undesirable 

 result would follow as a natural sequence. While the prob- 

 able size of the area through which the moth would become 

 established should it be allowed to increase and spread un- 

 restricted furnishes an interesting field for speculation, the 

 problem also has a practical bearing, the importance of 

 which can hardly be over-estimated. 



The distribution of leaf-eating insects is generally gov- 

 erned by the distribution of their chosen food plants. Un- 

 fortunately, the gypsy moth caterpillar exhibits no marked 



