REPOKT OF THE DELEGATE 



TO THE 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



FOR THE YEAR 1897. 



It was stated in a previous report that the work of the State 

 Hoard of Agriculture was divided among sub-committees of the 

 members. The worli of the Committee on Gypsy Moth, Insects, 

 and Birds would seem to have special interest for this Society. 

 The present facilities for travel and transportation enable collectors 

 to visit every habitable part of the globe in search for new species 

 and varieties of fruits, flowers, vegetables, ornamental trees and 

 shrubs, with the constant danger of bringing their insect enemies 

 with them. Foreign countries have found it necessary to pass 

 stringent laws requiring all nursery stock to be inspected before 

 being planted or distributed. 



Two insects which have proved most destructive in foreign 

 countries have recently been introduced into this State, — the Gypsy 

 Moth and the Brown-tailed Moth. The former was brought here 

 by a Frenchman who, having some knowledge of entomology, 

 thought that by cross-breeding he could produce a more hardy silk- 

 worm than the common species. While carr^'ing on his experi- 

 ments some of the caterpillars escaped and soon became a serious 

 pest in the neighborhood. He resided in the southern portion of 

 Medford ; his neighbors had small places with gardens of limited 

 area containing the usual garden fruits. In 1889 the caterpillars 

 appeared in such quantities as to defy all attempts to destroy tljem 

 by individual effort. The shade trees in the streets were stripped 

 of their foliage and the fences and the sides and roofs of the houses 

 w'ere covered with the caterpillars. They entered the houses, 

 secreting themselves in the closets and in the beds. The citizens 

 called a special town meeting and appropriated three hundred 



