No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 231 



When it was two-thirds full I poured kerosene over the mass of 

 worms and set them on fire. I used to do this a number of times a 

 day. It was sickening work. I have used, in burning caterpillars, 

 five gallons of kerosene in three days. I have seen my fence black 

 with the small caterpillars when they first hatched out in the spring. 

 I used to kill them on the fence by pouring scalding water on them. 

 The caterpillars used to be very thick in the grass, and there would 

 be one under every fallen leaf. On certain occasions callers have 

 had to wait at the front door until I could sweep the caterpillars off 

 the steps so that they could come in without getting the worms on 

 their clothing. Other yards on the street were in a similar condition 

 to our own, although other neighbors' pear trees escaped serious 

 injury. 



The caterpillars were very destructive in the woods behind our 

 house and on the other side of the railroad track. The trees in these 

 woods were principally poplars, maples, oaks and alders. The trees 

 were of a good size. Early in July of one of the years when the 

 caterpillars were most destructive I remember noticing the fine con- 

 dition of the foliage of these woods. A week or two later the 

 caterpillars had eaten all the leaves of the trees, and the woods 

 looked as if there had been a fire in them. Not realizing what the 

 trouble was, we went to see what had caused the altered appearance 

 of the trees. We found thousands of gypsy moth caterpillars clus- 

 tered in the crotches of the trees. A small growth of leaves came 

 out on these trees later, only to be eaten off by the pest. The cater- 

 pillars used to get on carriages and the clothing of people who went 

 on Myrtle Street. 



The bad condition of this section as regards the gypsy moth plague 

 was detrimental to real estate valuations. The caterpillars have 

 now been so much reduced that last year I don't think I saw more 

 than a dozen. The spraying by the Board's employees did much to 

 reduce their numbers, and the gathering of eggs has been even more 

 effective in stamping out the pest. It was well that the State fought 

 the moth, for the people alone could not have handled the work. 



(Signed) Mrs. Lina D. Mayo. 



Feb. 2, 1894. 



Statement of Mr. Almon Black, No. 10 Cotting Stkeet, 



Medford. 



In 1888 and 1889 the gypsy moth caterpillars were a terrible pest 



on Cotting Street and in that neighborhood. In a neighbor's yard 



(Mr. Rugg's) they brushed <>tV of one apple tree at one time fourteen 



quarts of caterpillars. In another yard two large apple trees were 



