336 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and about half were of resistant species, as ash, hickory and 

 maple. The moth infestation was very heavy, and when the 

 area was examined in the early spring there were several hun- 

 dred gypsy moth egg clusters on each tree. The owner did 

 not want to spray, and he was advised to cut down all the oaks 

 and await results. He did this, leaving only a very few oaks. 

 He neither painted nor sprayed, nor did any of the surrounding 

 owners. In July, when the moth eating was about completed, 

 the area was again examined. The results surprised even the 

 one who had advised this treatment. Whereas in the surround- 

 ing area there was almost a complete defoliation of all species, 

 on the thinned tract practically all the leaves were intact, with 

 the exception of those on the oaks that were not cut out. Of 

 course this case may be exceptional, yet we believe it reveals 

 the possibilities of resistant thinnings. 



In the many areas of woodland where, on account of the 

 large proportion of oak and the aesthetic value of the woods, a 

 totally resistant thinning is impractical, moth thinnings are of 

 great value as an aid to spraying. In fact, it is almost im- 

 possible to spray woodland effectively unless a certain amount 

 of thinning has been done. The thinning makes the work more 

 effective and lessens the cost from 25 to 60 per cent. In one 

 area that a year ago was sprayed, unthinned, at a cost of 

 nearly $10 per acre, and even then was partly defoliated, this 

 year, after thinning and brush-cutting, was sprayed at a cost 

 of a little more than $4 per acre, and practically no stripping 

 occurred. The cost of thinning, including cutting and burning 

 the brush, was about $5 per acre, deducting the value of the 

 wood cut. From this it is evident that in one year this thin- 

 ning was a paying proposition to the owner. In thinning that 

 is to be followed by spraying, and wherein the element of looks 

 enters considerably, it is necessary to do much more cutting 

 and disposing of brush than in straight, resistant thinnings. 

 The care of the brush is one of the large factors of expense in 

 this work. In purely resistant thinnings it is only necessary 

 to cut the non-resistant brush, as scrub oak, witch-hazel and 

 gray birch. 



A good method of handling a stand that has a very high 

 percentage of oak growth is to make a heavy thinning, cutting 



