No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. 415 



upon the trees. The improvement over the condition of 

 last year is very marked. In some of the worst-infested 

 localities hardly one egg-cluster can be found, where hun- 

 dreds were destroyed in 1897. Many miles of stone walls 

 were treated by spraying with crude petroleum to destroy 

 the moth eggs deposited beneath the stones. It was ascer- 

 tained by experiment that the application of this crude oil 

 in the form of a spray will destroy the eggs as effectually as 

 can be done by fire or the application of creosote. Experi- 

 ment has proved that spraying with oil in this manner is as 

 effectual as tearing down the walls and then killing the eggs 

 by hand. It is also much less expensive. 



AVhile the work of egg-killing was still going on, gangs 

 of wood cutters were organized, and the work of clearing 

 up underbrush and cutting decaying trees, which had not 

 been finished in the spring, was continued through the fall. 

 About two thousand acres were thus treated, and it is 

 hoped that in 1899 all the necessary work of this sort re- 

 maining can be done before the eggs hatch in the spring. 

 An inspection is also going on of those towns which, on 

 account of inadequate appropriations, have not been thor- 

 oughly examined for three or more years. As was to be 

 expected, a few new infested spots have been found in these 

 towns, but they have been discovered in most cases in time 

 to prevent any great increase or spread. 



From the first it has been the plan of the committee to 

 begin the work of extermination in the outer towns, forcing 

 the moth towards the centre, and then, by concentrating all 

 forces available, to crush out the large colonies in the cen- 

 tral towns. Unfortunately, the policy of past Legislatures 

 in scaling down appropriations has prevented the carrying 

 out of this plan, and has permitted the increase and conse- 

 quent spread of the moth in the central towns. As has 

 been stated in a former report, the increasing danger of a 

 Bpread of the moth in towns already cleared, by reason of 

 the increased facilities for distribution from badly infested 

 woodlands in the central towns, led to a change in the 

 original plan ; and the greatest effort of the season has been 

 put forth to stamp out the moth in these badly infested 

 central woodlands, and thus prevent rcinfestation of the 



