106 
It might be inferred from the foregoing statements that the gipsy 
moth in Massachusetts is nearly exterminated, but unfortunately there 
have been some new developments during the past summer. 
In 1898 Dr. L. O. Howard recommended that warning bulletins con- 
taining information descriptive of the gipsy moth and its ravages be 
distributed in the towns contiguous to the infested region. This sug- 
gestion was approved and the course recommended by Dr. Howard was 
adopted by the committee in charge of the work. The bulletins, which 
were printed in i898, have been and are still being distributed in towns 
adjacent to those infested. It was through the distribution of these 
bulletins that a moth colony was discovered in the corner of Newton 
most distant from what has been known as the infested region. The 
caterpillars were noticed in the spring by citizens who had been sup- 
plied with bulletins. The board of agriculture was notified at once of 
the discovery. I visited the spot immediately and found that the 
larve had already stripped a few apple trees on one estate. A little 
search showed that they were scattered about the country for a mile 
in all directions. Men were put at work there at once. Burlap was 
put on and attended as rapidly as possible. The number of caterpil- 
lars appeared to increase from day to day, and they finally stripped a 
number of trees in the neighborhood: Careful attention to the burlaps 
soon proved that the larvie were scattered over an area of 3 or 4 square 
miles. In the worst-infested localities trees were cut, an old building 
which had served as a refuge for the moths was burned, and an entire 
pasture was burned over. Thirty men were kept at work for a month 
busily killing the caterpillars. 
This outbreak occurred in a corner of Newton which has never been 
inspected, as it is beyond the limit to which, for lack of means, we have 
been able to extend our inspection in previous years. 
A little later in the season word was received from Georgetown that 
caterpillars, believed to be those of the gipsy moth, were destroying 
the foliage of the trees in a large tract of woodland. In company with 
Mr. Kirkland I visited the place immediately, and found that the trees 
on at least 2 acres of ground on the line between Georgetown and Row- 
ley were entirely stripped. These trees included many common wood- 
land species, the white oak and white pine being predominant. A force 
of twenty men was immediately detailed here, a wide swath was cut 
around the infested locality, and the infested trees on several acres of 
ground within this belt were cut down and burned, together with the 
pup and other forms of the moth upon them. An inspection of the 
adjoining woodland showed that the moths had become somewhat scat- 
tered in the vicinity, and the amount of work to be done there is as yet 
problematical. Georgetown is at some distance from the infested 
region and outside of the line of previous inspections. The warning 
bulletins have been since distributed in Georgetown and the towns 
surrounding it. 
