78 Bulletin 234 > 



birches on the University Campus. This autumn all the infested trees show- 

 ing dying tops are being removed and promptly burned. In cities and towns 

 where this insect is killing the white birches, there should be enacted an ordin- 

 ance compelling the authorities to promptly cut and burn in autumn, winter, 

 and surely before May ist, the infested trees in the parks, and if possible 

 requiring owners of private grounds to do the same. The mere enactment of 

 such an ordinance will not often accomplish the desired result. Public opinion 

 must be behind such a measure to enforce it. Ithaca, Buffalo, Rochester and 

 other New York State cities are now face to face with the problem of check- 

 ing this pest or of losing their white birches. Civic Improvement Societies 

 could render efficient aid in such work. 



Briefly then, there is no known way of preventing this bronze birch borer 

 from attacking white birches, and the only practicable and effective method yet 

 found for checking its ravages is to promptly cut and burn the infested trees in 

 autumn, in winter, or before May ist. There is no possibility of saving a tree 

 when the top branches are dead, as shown in the frontispiece and in Fig, 34.. 

 Cut and burn such trees at once and thus prevent the spread of the insect. 



