REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I915 45 



bark and outer sap wood, thus speedily destroying limbs or entire 

 trees before there are marked signs of the borer's presence. 



Gipsy moth. The Entomologist examined conditions obtaining 

 at Mount Kisco where an infestation of several years' standing 

 was discovered in 1914, and found that very satisfactory work had 

 been done in the control of the pest. The infested areas have been 

 well cleaned, banded with tanglefoot and sprayed, and the outlying 

 unsprayed area banded with burlap for the purpose of catching 

 any possible straying caterpillars. The great reduction in the infes- 

 tation as compared with the conditions obtaining last year, is most 

 gratifying and if the work is continued along present lines the 

 probabilities are excellent of eliminating this local infestation. 



Grass and grain pests. Investigations showed that the extended 

 grasshopper devastations of last year on the borders of the Adiron- 

 dacks, especially in portions of Fulton, Saratoga and Warren 

 counties, continued, though the insects were present in much 

 smaller numbers. This was especially true in -Fulton county where 

 poisoned bait was used very effectively the preceding season. The 

 Entomologist, cooperating with the State Department of Agri- 

 culture and the Saratoga County Farm Bureau, conducted a series 

 of experiments for the destruction of young grasshoppers. It 

 was found that while the poisoned, fruit-flavored bait, frequently 

 known as the Kansas bait, would kill many of the grasshoppers, 

 especially in sections where vegetation was sparse, a sweetened 

 solution of sodium arsenite was most effective in destroying the 

 young pests in fields where there was considerable vegetation, 

 particularly in clover seedings. The work of the past two seasons 

 has demonstrated beyond all question the practicability of control- 

 ling outbreaks of this character, even on individual farms, though 

 cooperation in badly infested areas is extremely desirable. The 

 details of this work are given in the Entomologist's report. 



The white grub outbreak of last season, predicted by the Ento- 

 mologist the preceding fall and spring, was very serious in southern 

 Rensselaer and northern Columbia counties in particular, though 

 the damage was mitigated to a considerable extent by an unusually 

 copious and well-distributed rainfall during the summer months. 

 Last fall and early in the spring the Entomologist sent out popular 

 notices regarding this insect, giving directions for the location of 

 badly infested areas and advising certain preventive measures. 

 In spite of these warnings numerous farmers suffered unnecessary 

 losses, either by allowing badly infested land to remain unplowed. 



