280 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



In talking with Dr. T. Algernon Chapman, an English ento- 

 mologist, I was informed that, in his desire to propagate the 

 gypsy moth in order to have plenty of specimens, he had actually 

 imported them into England, and had endeavored to establish 

 them on fruit trees at different times, but his undertakings had 

 been a complete failure. In talking with Oberforester Fleck of 

 Frankfort, Ger., I found that, while the gypsy moth was a harm- 

 ful insect, nevertheless it appeared in sufficient numbers to be 

 destructive only once in ten or twelve years, and even then the 

 outbreak was nothing like that of our American infestation. One 

 of the delegates reported that he had seen the gypsy moth in 

 large numbers in northern Africa, where it had defoliated vege- 

 tation in a way similar to that in Massachusetts. Many others 

 gave their experiences from observations, but, on the whole, they 

 revealed nothing in addition to the facts given by Mr. W. F. 

 Fiske and Dr. L. O. Howard, who have made a study personally 

 of European and Japanese conditions, through the co-operative 

 work on the part of Massachusetts and the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



From observations during my very brief stay in England, 

 and from discussions with entomologists, I was particularly im- 

 pressed with the fact that insect life generally never seems to 

 reach the extremes there that it does in this country. This is 

 true, I should say, not only in regard to insects affecting trees, 

 but about those preying upon flowers and vegetables as well. It 

 would seem to the writer that climatic conditions are largely 

 responsible for this, for with such frequent precipitation vegeta- 

 tion is kept fresh and healthy, and at the same time insect life 

 generally does not find the variety of conditions to favor its 

 development which our climate, of greater extremes of heat and 

 drought, assists. It may be that parasites are present and aid 

 in keeping the balance, but it is believed that natural climatic 

 conditions are great factors. 



On the continent, conditions vary more or less from those of 

 England, and outbreaks here seem to be more frequent and ap- 

 proach much nearer those in America; but even here the past 

 season was comparatively cold and rainy, and therefore not as 

 favorable to the development of insect life. I was, in fact, almost 

 disappointed in not being able to find more forest insect depre- 



