No. 4.] GYPSY MOTH. 235 



that the law under which your committee operated up to 

 the close of the work made it impossible to send experts 

 abroad to investigate this matter, or to leave untouched the 

 large colonies in this State which would be necessary for 

 the successful introduction and breeding of parasites. Now 

 that the State has abandoned the idea of exterminating the 

 moth, and the question has become simpl}' one of controlling 

 its increase and spread, we think it highly desirable that an 

 investigation of the gypsy moth in Europe should be made, 

 particularly with reference to discovering such parasites 

 or contagious diseases as may l)e effective in checking 

 tlie increase of the insect. A work of this kind calls for the 

 highest technical skill, and we are glad to learn that the 

 chief of the Bureau of Entomology of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Dr. L. O. Howard, is taking 

 steps to investigate this important subject. Dr. Howard's 

 reputation as a scientist is a suiBcient guarantee that any 

 work done under his direction will be carried out in the 

 most thorough manner, and this committee stands ready to 

 co-operate with him to the fullest possible extent. Lacking 

 State appropriations for this purpose, it seems highly desir- 

 able that national aid should be obtained for this specific 

 work, and your committee is already acting along these lines. 



Summary. 

 The condition of the moth-infested region at the close of 

 1899 may be well summarized in the words of this com- 

 mittee's report for that year : "The entire infested district 

 Avas never so free from the gypsy moth since the beginning 

 of the State work as at present." The large woodland 

 colonies were completely under control, many of them had 

 been exterminated. The residential districts had been prac- 

 tically cleared of the moth. Ten acres all told would be an 

 ample estimate of the entire stripped area in all the cities 

 and towns for 1899. In the words of the special investi- 

 gating committee (March, 1900), "The infested spots are 

 scattered. There are to-day, so far as known, no large 

 colonies; " and again, " There are to-day no known colonies 

 in existence." 



