51 



The committee in charge and those directly connected with the work 

 have been criticised because the importation of parasites has not been 

 attempted. This, he explained, had not seemed wise while the work 

 has been carried on with a view to extermination, since the latter con- 

 dition involved the destruction of all large colonies wherever they 

 occurred and would thus prevent the successful breeding of parasites. 

 Such insects would require the most favorable conditions in order to 

 become acclimatized, and this would necessitate the preservation of 

 large colonies of the gypsy moth as food for the parasites. Should the 

 work of extermination be abandoned, a careful study of the natural 

 enemies of the gypsy moth in its native home would be advised. At 

 the request of Mr. Fernald, Director E. H. Forbush presented a state- 

 ment of the condition of the gypsy-moth work as it now exists. 



Mr. Forbush tirst called attention to a common mistake in consider- 

 ing the work as that of the "gypsy moth commission," it being instead 

 in charge of a special committee of the State board of agriculture. 

 There was at the inception of the work a "commission" proper. This 

 was removed by Governor Eussell for malfeasance in office and a second 

 commission appointed. This body served but a short time, the work 

 being subsequently delegated to the State board of agriculture. To 

 render the present status of the work more intelligible, Mr. Forbush 

 gave a brief resume of the history of the effort to exterminate the insect. 



The work began under a grave misconception of the amount of terri- 

 tory infested. As soon as the State board assumed the direction of 

 the undertaking it was found that the infested territory extended, not 

 as believed by the first commission over a small and well-defined area, 

 but instead over some thirty cities and towns. The size of the infested 

 territory as considered by the first commission compared with the actual 

 area later found to be infested was very aptly illustrated by a com- 

 parison of the size of a dollar with that of a broad-brimmed hat. In 

 the fall of the second year of the work conducted by the State 

 board Mr. Forbush and Mr. Fernald made a careful inspection of the 

 infested region and prepared an estimate of the cost of extermination. 

 Upon the convening of the legislature they asked for all the money that 

 could be economically expended in one year, and no more. At that 

 time the legislature lost the golden opportunity. Had sufficient funds 

 been forthcoming to enable a vigorous prosecution of the work under 

 the favorable conditions then existing the present condition as regards 

 extermination would be much more satisfactory. But this was not all. 

 The same legislative policy of reduced appropriations, granted after 

 long and costly delays, has been followed year after year. 



The work has suffered from two causes — apathy of friends and oppo- 

 sition of enemies. Friends of the work were apathetic except where 

 their own property was damaged by the insect. Others opposed the 

 work from personal reasons. 



Mr. Smith inquired whether or not the infested territory had been 

 reduced. 



