No. 4.] THE GYPSY MOTH. !:;.» 



inspected. In both these towns extensions of old colonies 

 were discovered, and, so far as was possible at that season, 

 the moths were destroyed. A good deal of cutting and 

 cleaning was done in Everett and Melrose during the month 

 of February. All that was possible, with the limited num- 

 ber of men that could be hired with a small emergency ap- 

 propriation, was done in the way of inspecting those towns 

 where inspection was most needed. This was continued in 

 the best weather until the snow had gone. When the 

 weather was unfit for such work, the men were employed in 

 thinning out the trees in infested woodland or cutting and 

 burning undergrowth. 



The emergency appropriation was nearly exhausted by 

 March 11, therefore the force was laid off by relays until 

 March 18. The most expert men were retained for a few 

 days, and put into the worst known colonies, with a view 

 to reducing the number of ejygs of the moth there, so as to 

 prevent any great outbreak should the Legislature make no 

 provision for the work of the season before hatching time. 

 The emergency appropriation being then exhausted, the 

 entire field force was laid off from March 18 until April, 

 when the appropriation for the season's work became avail- 

 able. The work of burning over the ground, so necessary 

 in the worst-infested localities, which should have been done 

 in April and early May, was much interfered with by the 

 wet weather, which was almost continuous until after the 

 eggs had hatched and the caterpillars had ascended the trees, 

 when the burning had to be given up. All of this work was 

 done that could be done under the circumstances. In the 

 mean time, the force of men had been so rapidly increased 

 that 340 men were at work before the end of April. The 

 most expert of these were kept at work destroying the eggs 

 of the moth in some of the worst-infested colonies (where 

 they had been covered by snow during the winter), or 

 inspecting territory in the search for eggs. The inexperi- 

 enced men were employed in cutting and burning under- 

 growth in the infested woodland, burning over ground, 

 spraying stone walls with oil and putting insect-lime upon 

 the trees to prevent the young caterpillars from climbing 

 them. 



