No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 225 



million dollars. Since that time it has been variously esti- 

 mated in different years at from three hundred million dollars 

 to four hundred million dollars.* Mr. James Fletcher, ento- 

 mologist of the Dominion of Canada, estimates it in 1891 at 

 three hundred and eighty million dollars, f "This sum," he 

 says, " is given up without a murmur and almost without a 

 struggle by the people of the United States ; *' and he stated, 

 in his report before the committee on agriculture of the Cana- 

 dian House of Commons, July 4, 1891, that insects destroy 

 one-tenth of the crops of the Dominion of Canada. 



Most of the foregoing insect pests feed on but few food 

 plants and attack only one class of crops, while the gypsy 

 moth is known to feed on more than three hundred ditferent 

 species of plants, including orchard and forest trees, shrubs, 

 vines and garden vegetables and even some of the grain crops. 

 Its capabilities for destruction, if its increase is allowed, are 

 therefore quite apparent. 



History shows that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

 has not suffered often or to any such extent by the ravages of 

 insects as have the Western States. It is said in regard to 

 the early history of the colony, that, when a bounty was paid 

 for crows and blackbirds and they were nearly exterminated 

 by the settlers in consequence, the insects increased and 

 destroyed the crops so that the colonists were obliged to send 

 to Pennsylvania and England for hay for their cattle.:}: Occa- 

 sional invasions of the army worm have occurred. Grass- 

 hoppers do some injury to the grass lands and pastures in dry 

 seasons. A large part of the apple crop is given up to the 

 caterpillars, canker worms and codling moths. It is said that 

 the injury to the cranberry crop on Cape Cod by insects has 

 amounted to a million dollars in a single year ; § and Pro- 

 fessor Fernald has computed that the application of Paris 

 green to the potato crop to protect it from the ravages of the 

 potato beetle costs the fanners of Massachusetts seventy-six 

 thousand dollars yearly. 



These losses are borne as a matter of course, and have 

 seldom attracted general attention. The gypsy moth, how- 



* Report United States Department of Agriculture, 1884, page 324. 



f " Insect Life," vol. 4, page 13. 



J Kalm's "Travels in America." 



^ Bulletin n<>. id, Hatch Experiment Station, May, is<»'.>. 



