2 CIRCULAR 4 64, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



into the houses, became a very grave nuisance. The situation was 

 so serious that the State of Massachusetts appropriated funds and 

 delegated to the State Department of Agriculture the task of exter- 

 minating this pest. 



The infested area then covered about 359 square miles, and trees 

 in many towns around Boston were completely defoliated each season 

 for a number of years. As the work continued, more effective methods 

 of treatment were developed and better results were obtained; conse- 

 quently, during the summers of 1898 and 1899 little defoliation could 

 be found in the entire area and few specimens of the moth were located 

 throughout the residential sections. Careful examination indicated 

 that the insect had been exterminated in some of the towns bordering 

 the originally infested area. In February 1900 the legislature ordered 

 the work discontinued because of the popular belief that the danger 

 had passed, in spite of the advice of experts that the insect had not 

 been stamped out. 



During the next 5 years the insect increased enormously. Many of 

 the towns and cities in the old infested area were overrun with cater- 

 pillars, which completely defoliated trees in many of the residential 

 sections, and thousands of acres of woodland were stripped of leaves 

 during the summer. The situation became so serious and intolerable 

 that in 1905 the State resumed control work. In the meantime the 

 insect had spread far beyond the original limits of infestation, more 

 than 2,224 square miles being involved in Massachusetts as well as 

 many isolated areas in Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. 



In 1906 an appropriation was made by Congress, and the Secretary 

 of Agriculture was authorized to take all possible measures, in coopera- 

 tion with the States concerned, to prevent the spread of this pest. 

 The insect had increased to such enormous numbers and had spread 

 so rapidly that the utmost efforts of the Federal and State forces 

 were only able to apply relief measures in the badly infested residential 

 sections and slightly retard the continued spread of the pest. Efforts 

 were made to prevent the shipment of the insect to uninfested localities 

 by inspecting products that were likely to carry it. This phase of 

 the work was greatly strengthened as a result of the enactment of 

 the plant quarantine law by Congress on August 20, 1912. Since 

 October of that year shipments from the infested district have been 

 regulated by Federal quarantine. 



On account of the continued spread and increasing damage caused 

 by this insect, efforts were constantly being made to develop better 

 means of control. The process of manufacturing lead arsenate, which 

 was first made and used on the gypsy moth work in 1893, was im- 

 proved so that the cost of production was reduced and the product 

 could be more effectively applied. Spraying machinery and equip- 

 ment were developed to a high point of efficiency. The details of 

 field management were constantly improved, following experimental 

 work in carrying on field operations, in order that the greatest possible 

 volume of effective work could be done with the funds available. 



In spite of the efforts that were made by the Federal Government 

 and all the States concerned, the insect continued to spread. By 

 1914 it had covered the southern half of New Hampshire and extended 

 as far east as Bangor, Maine. On the west it had crossed the Con- 

 necticut River in Massachusetts and into Vermont. Rhode Island 

 and towns in eastern Connecticut were found to be infested. 



