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used, under the law, in advance in January, leaving less than $14,000 
available for use. This amount was soon expended in the continuation 
of the work of clearing up infested woodland. The field force was 
laid off until April 15, 1899, when the balance of the appropriation 
($170,000) became available. Thus, although an appropriation of 
$200,000 was finally granted, it was only after considerable delay, and 
from this sum a portion not to exceed $10,000 was set aside by the 
legislature for work on the brown-tail moth. As in previous years the 
delay in making the appropriation had made it impossible to do much 
of the spring work. It was decided to concentrate the effort of the 
year on the burlapping period. Five hundred men were employed and 
at the height of the burlapping season this number was increased to 
about 570. Fifty-three tons of burlap were purchased and approxi- 
mately 2,500,000 trees were burlapped, in addition to about 1,000,000 
on which the burlaps of the previous year were still in serviceable 
condition. After the burlaps had been put on the trees and previous 
to the time when the caterpillars began to cluster, considerable spray- 
ing with arsenate of lead was done. 
From our standpoint the weather of May and June was ideal, as hardly 
a drop of rain fell, and spraying under such conditions could not be 
otherwise than effective. In almost every case where trees were sprayed 
the moths were nearly if not quite all destroyed. The caterpillars 
matured with remarkable rapidity (although the season in the begin- 
ning appeared to be late on account of the early spring being cold and 
wet) and passed through all their transformations, the moths emerging 
at .east two weeks earlier on an average than in any other year since 
the work began. The dry warm weather was perhaps the cause of this 
rapid development. A close watch was kept on the larve and the work 
of burlapping was pushed with the utmost diligence. All other work 
was given up, and wherever caterpillars were found the burlaps were 
examined as often as appeared necessary. In those localities where . 
the greater number of larvze were found the bands were visited once a 
day and even oftener in extreme cases. As a result of this work the 
larve were killed off so rapidly that few matured. As in past years 
more caterpillars were found in Malden, Medford, and Melrose, the 
central towns of the district, than in any other infested towns. It is 
difficult now to find egg clusters of the gypsy moth in the infested 
region, except in a few localities where, owing to delayin making the 
appropriation, the woodland has not yet been prepared for the use of 
burlap by cutting out the undergrowth and dead trees. This work is 
to be done during the fall and winter if sufficient means are provided. 
In some places in the central towns a great deal of burning with oil 
was done in June and July, while the larve were pupating, and there 
is still considerable work of this sort to be done, mainly in Malden, 
Medford, and Melrose. 
