THE GIPSY Molll. 1-1 
dred feet back from the road as on those along the roadside. 
This matter will probably be given the careful study of an 
expert during the coming season, as it is a matter of the 
most vital importance in the future control of the pest. 
FOOD PLANTS AND INJURY CAUSED. 
"The gipsy moth caterpillar will attack all fruit, shade 
and woodland trees. It shows a preference for the apple, 
white oak, red oak, willow and elm. It will devour on 
occasion nearly every useful grass, plant, flower, shrub, 
vine, bush, garden or field crop that grows in Massachu- 
setts (or New Hampshire). 
"The caterpillar kills both deciduous (or hard- wood) and 
coniferous (soft-wood or evergreen) trees. Woodlands 
assailed by it in formidable numbers are stripped bare, as 
in winter, and many trees are killed. While several con- 
secutive strippings are usually necessary to cause the death 
of a healthy deciduous tree, one thorough stripping will kill 
the white pine and other coniferous trees." Figure 9 
shows the effect of a single stripping upon pine and spruce 
at Arlington, Mass., in 1904, the photo being taken by the 
writer in March, 1905. These trees were totally dead and 
fit only for firewood. Throughout acres of woodland in the 
worst infested district in Massachusetts, the pines, spruces 
and hemlocks have been almost entirely destroyed and the 
piles of cordwood attest the devastation wrought by the 
gipsy moth caterpillar. "Where the gipsy moth abounds 
in residence districts, it not only eats nearly everything 
green, but it swarms, in caterpillar form, upon houses, 
walks and verandas and often enters dwellings. In resi- 
dential districts most heavily infested by the moth, real 
estate tends to rapid depreciation, so that it sometimes be- 
comes a matter of difficulty to rent or sell property. ' ' Such 
instances now exist, as shown to the writer. 
NATURAL ENEMIES. 
"While the gipsy moth is a serious enemy of trees, it 
has its own foes in the shape of predaceous insects, para- 
