460, BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



dition than in 1897. The whole town, woodland and all, 

 needs a thorough inspection. In many of the colonies the 

 undergrowth should be cleared out and everything put in 

 shape for the work of another summer. If the appropria- 

 tion for the year 1899 is not delayed, this work can be done 

 before the eggs hatch. Unless this is done, the work in 

 Melrose during the summer of 1899 will be greatly handi- 

 capped. 



Saugus, 



For the first time since the beginning of the work of ex- 

 terminating the gypsy moth it is possible to report accu- 

 rately the condition of Saugus. For several years the 

 wooded section of north Saugus was more generally and 

 thoroughly infested by the gypsy moth than any other local- 

 ity in the infested region. The inspection of this section, 

 made in the winter of 1897-98, and the cleaning up of the 

 rubbish and dead wood which followed, fitly supplemented 

 the work of 1897 ; so that for the first time it can be said 

 with truth that gypsy moths are rare in Saugus, even though 

 the whole town may still be regarded as infested. 



A comparison of the number of caterpillars found in 

 1897 in several colonies with the number found in 1898 

 shows how the work of the two years has told. In one 

 colony, from which 669,324 caterpillars were taken in 1897, 

 only 10,800 were taken in the summer of 1898. In another, 

 in which 745,934 were taken in 1897, only 73,000 were 

 taken in 1898. In 1897 there were taken in north Saugus 

 woods, under 122,000 burlaps, 3,522,783 caterpillars; in 

 the summer of 1898 there were taken under double the 

 number of burlaps only 297,000 caterpillars. At the end 

 of the season very few egg-clusters were found. There is 

 now little danger of such a spread from Saugus into towns 

 surrounding as in past years. It will require, however, 

 quite as many men thoroughly to attend to the Saugus 

 woods in 1899 as it did in 1898. There is still a large 

 amount of undergrowth to be cut out, and that which al- 

 ready has been cut must be kept down. It will be necessary 

 to add still more to the number of burlaps, and although the 

 number of caterpillars taken will probably be very small, 



