8 



6. Citizens will confer a favor by reporting at once to this office 

 any carelessness, discourtesy, or deviation from their line of duty 

 on the part of the men engaged in the work. 



THE GYPSY MOTH DISTRIBtTTION. 



The gypsy moth is found in every ward in the city 'of Providence, 

 and in two or three places outside the city limits. Wards 2, 4, 5, 6, 

 8, and 9 are more or less seriously infested. The infestation is very 

 much greater, not only in area, but also in the number of insects 

 in the infested area, than was realized at the beginning of the work. 

 In order that people interested may learn the general details of the 

 work as carried out, a few words descriptive of present plans and 

 methods will be given. 



METHODS OP FIGHTING THE PEST. 



Creosoting. — The most economical and effectual work against the 

 gypsy moth is destroying the egg masses. It is most easily done by 

 painting them with creosote, to which a small amount of lamp black 

 or tar has been added to color the egg masses so that the treated ones 

 may be distinguished from those that are not treated. When the 

 appropriation became available, there was but vfery little time left 

 in which to apply this method; in fact, many of the eggs were already 

 hatching, and it soon became useless to paint the egg clusters. Only 

 a part of even the then known areas could be thoroughly gone over. 

 Another method which gives fairly good results is 



Burlapping. — It is the habit of the caterpillars, after they become 

 half-grown, to feed at night and to seek some convenient shelter 

 during the day. If no such shelter is found in the trees, they descend 

 to the ground to hide under rubbish and other objects in the neigh- 

 borhood. The burlap is put on to provide a hiding place for them. 

 During the period in which this is effective, all the burlap should be 

 gone over once or twice a week, and in badly infested regions every 



