anr, board of agriculture. [PuI). Doc. 



making an appropriation for the year's work, the remainder 

 of the appropriation of 1895 was used as far as it would go 

 in some of the badly infested localities, by destroying the 

 eggs of the moth there and thus preventing any outbreak of 

 caterpillars which might otherwise occur in the spring and 

 summer, should the appropriation be so long delayed as to 

 prevent any further work being done. Most of the field 

 work was discontinued in March, and nearly all the men 

 were discharged for lack of money to pay their wages. 



When the emergency appropriation of $10,000 became 

 available, April 28, it was applied in destroying the eggs on 

 the trees in the worst infested localities, and in burning over 

 the ground to destroy the scattered eggs of the moth in col- 

 onies where this work was deemed most necessary. The 

 work was begun at once in the outer towns. But the cater- 

 pillars were then already beginning to hatch out. Before 

 the burning had progressed far toward the centre, they were 

 going up the trees. For this reason the burning ceased to 

 be eflfective and was discontinued. The lapse of this work 

 was seriously felt later. 



All through the month of May the caterpillars were hatch- 

 ing out and spreading abroad from those worst infested local- 

 ities in the central towns, where, on account of the delay of 

 the appropriation, little or no winter work had been done. 

 The weather of the two previous years had been particularly 

 favorable for a great increase of the moth, and many fore- 

 bodings were felt as to what might result from the enforced 

 delay. The season of 1896 also presented favorable con- 

 ditions for the multiplication of the moth, and the worst 

 fears were partly realized in the stripping and death of trees 

 in the woodlands, and in the spreading of the caterpillars 

 therefrom over territory in the central towns which had been 

 previously cleared at great labor and expense. 



Some badly infested localities in the central towns had 

 been carefully treated during the fall and winter, everything 

 possible but the burning having then been done. This it 

 was intended to do in the spring, as, the leaves having fallen 

 from the trees during the fall and winter, a ground fire would 

 then be most effective. In some of these colonies where the 

 burning was not done the scattered eggs on the ground 



