312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



fested region, which, from lack of money, have necessarily 

 been neglected, in order to attend to the outer circle of in- 

 fested towns. In this outer circle the object has been to 

 reduce the area infested and to prevent the moths spreading 

 into new^ territory, beyond the known line of infestation. 

 The committee has also reported that from the woodland 

 colonies, in the central towns, the moths would be liable to 

 spread into territory not previously infested and also into 

 the area that had been cleared of the moth. The woodland 

 in Medford, Maiden, Melrose, Winchester and Stoneham has 

 largely been taken for park purposes, and developed by the 

 construction of boulevards and roads for driving and bicy- 

 cling and paths for foot passengers ; in short, it has become 

 a place of resort for the people. Street-car lines have also 

 been constructed on roads passing through infested woods in 

 other towns. The result has been, as was predicted in former 

 reports, that the caterpillars have been brought out of these 

 woodland colonies on carriages and teams and on the clothing 

 of persons, and thus land already cleared at much labor and 

 expense has become reinfested. To prevent the neutralization 

 of exterminative work in this way, great eftbrts have been 

 made at large expense during the past year to suppress these 

 larger colonies. Vast quantities of eggs were destroyed 

 during the winter and early spring, large areas of woods and 

 brush were thinned out or cut down, and much land was 

 burned over. The plan proposed by the committee in the 

 last report was to do this work and also continue the careful 

 inspection of the outside territory, i. e., that beyond the 

 outer circle of infested towns, as well as that formerly in- 

 fested but now thoroughly cleared. This plan has been fol- 

 lowed as closely as was possible with the amount of money 

 appropriated. But only three-quarters of the work planned 

 could be accomplished with three-fourths of the appropriation 

 asked for. The trees in the vicinity of all points where the 

 moths have been found in the outer towns within the past 

 three years have been burlapped and carefully attended. 

 This has served to verify the work of former years and to 

 show where that work was not absolutely completed, and has 

 also proved that caterpillars have, as was feared, been scat- 

 tered from the badly infested woodland colonies in the cen- 



