1909.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 73. 51 



trees. With this system of spraying, which does not involve 

 the climbing of trees, a large percentage of the poison falls 

 to the ground. With the mist spray, used in connection with 

 low-power outfits, where the trees are climbed and carefully 

 sprayed by hand, but little of the poison falls to the ground, 

 and there is practically no danger to live stock, other than 

 poulti-y, which may feed under the trees. Since the wholesale 

 spraying operations against the gypsy moth, particularly in 

 woodlands and along roadsides, involve the use of high-power 

 sprayers throwing a solid stream, much greater care must be 

 taken in the future than in the past, to prevent the poisoning 

 of live stock. We recommend that wherever spraying of this 

 kind is done along roadsides, in pastures or in woodlands, 

 suitable placards should be displayed, indicating that the trees 

 have been sprayed and that it is dangerous for stock to be al- 

 lowed to feed beneath them. The owners of land thus sprayed 

 should be promptly notified. We think it also desirable, as far 

 as possible, to fence off the sprayed sections from the unsprayed, 

 as in the case of pastures, making such arrangements with the 

 owners as may be necessary. 



In the case of the alleged death of live stock from spraying 

 operations, it is important that the viscera should be removed 

 and subjected to chemical analysis, if claim for damages is to 

 be made against the city or town. The Honorable Auditor of 

 the Commonwealth has ruled that claims for loss from the 

 death of live stock alleged to be due to spraying operations, 

 under the direction of this office, are not a proper subject for 

 reimbursement from the appropriations for the suppression of 

 the gypsy and brown-tail moths, but that rather they fall in 

 the class of consequential damages, which must be borne, if at 

 all, by the city or town in which they occur. 



Purchase of Supplies. 

 Further efforts have been made to systematize the purchase 

 of supplies used by the several cities and towns in the work 

 of suppressing the moths. It is of course most unbusinesslike 

 that one town should pay a price greatly in advance of that 

 paid by a neighboring town for the same kind and gi-ade of 

 materials. Last year competitive bids on the principal sup- 



