232 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc 



stripped by the caterpillars and died. The way this was brought 

 about was as follows : the caterpillars stripped the trees early in the 

 season, and, as they continued their ravages for nearly the whole 

 summer, the trees had no chance to recover. The next year the trees 

 would leaf out and be stripped again, and so on, until, unable longer 

 to withstand such treatment, they died. The caterpillars ate almost 

 everything, feeding on small fruits and shrubbery as well as the trees. 

 The oaks at the McGowan tannery were stripped clean. 



(Signed) Almon Black. 



Jan. 25, 1894. 



Statement op Mr. Arthur W. Crockford, Florist, 81 Spring 

 Street, Medford. 

 Four years ago I saw the gypsy moth caterpillars by the thousand 

 on the Sherman lot on Spring Street. I never saw such a sight. 

 Their eggs were as thick on the big willows as spawn in a fish. The 

 trees on the street were also stripped, nothing but the ribs of the 

 leaves being left. In 1889 I had twenty-seven hundred young 

 carnation pinks set out of doors, and the biggest part of them were 

 destroyed by the caterpillars. This was in June. They were eaten 

 off close to the ground. In 1890 the gypsy moth appeared in my 

 green-houses, and the bushes in one rose house were completely 

 eaten up. The foliage seemed all burned. I did not know at first 

 what caused this appearance, but on turning over the leaves I found 

 the young caterpillars on the under sides. They were very small at 

 that time. The house was full of them. The warmth caused them 

 to hatch out early. I destroyed most of them by picking off the 

 leaves and burning them, and also by spraying with an emulsion of 

 whale oil soap, kerosene and ammonia. In this year (1890) the 

 fences in this neighborhood were covered with the gypsy moth cater- 

 pillars. We have no trouble now. Since the neighboring brash- 

 land has been burnt over by the gypsy moth men the caterpillars 

 have not troubled us. 



(Signed) A. "W*. Crockford. 



Jan. 20, 1894. 



Statement op Mrs. J. W. Flinn, Sea View Avenue, Malden. 

 "We moved to Myrtle Street, Medford, in 1882, and that year the 

 gypsy moth caterpillars were very troublesome in our yard and in 

 those of our immediate neighbors. At that time they were confined 

 to our part of Myrtle Street, but they soon spread in all directions. 

 The caterpillars were over everything in our yard, and stripped all 



