48 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



the coming months, but that the town officials are up to their 

 duty in looking after the shade trees on the highways and remov- 

 ing these nests. In the short time last spring very effective 

 work was done, both by the towns and by private individuals. 

 We were very much pleased indeed to see the interest taken and 

 the thoroughness of the work done. As a result, I think you 

 will all agree with me that you do not find many brown-tail nests 

 in towns wdiere there were C|uite a few last spring. Of course 

 throughout the thickly settled portion — that is, thickly settled as 

 far as the nests were concerned, or have been for the past two 

 or three years, that is the towns in York county especially— you 

 could find them today by the thousands, but along our northern 

 border, through this section and further south even till you get 

 to Portland, I think you will find that more than fifty per cent 

 have dropped out. 



We have at present eight men in this work. The work is edu- 

 cational. We are scouting along the northern border to see 

 that none have escajDcd us — stepped over the line. That of 

 course has to be done, and done thoroughly, because we don't 

 want them to get by us and start in somewhere where they will 

 not be noticed perhaps. So much for the brown-tail work. 



Now I am to touch upon a chapter that I trust is an intro- 

 ductory chapter, and I hope there will be but one chapter follow- 

 ing, and that is this record of the gypsy moth in our State. It 

 has reached now such a serious condition that it appeals to every 

 living being in Maine. I have here two new mounts of gypsy 

 material prej)ared in the office a day of two ago to be presented 

 to the Governor and Council yesterday. Dr. Howard — I will 

 go back a little — Dr. Howard and his field agent for this work 

 visited our State and in company with my field agent and myself 

 we went over the territory, showing him what we had done 

 during the past year. He expressed himself as very much 

 gratified indeed with the work done. Now understand, I don't 

 want you or any one not employed in this special work to touch 

 a gypsy egg cluster in the State, not a live one. It is not safe. 

 Last winter we had them carried arovmd on the bottoms of 

 sleighs and pungs and scattered all through York county. We 

 discovered the remains of these on the bottoms of sleighs and 

 pungs with only a few eggs left. Well, now. with an egg cluster 

 numbering five hundred eggs, and with a vitality shown by 



