63 



Euroi)eaii works in re^^ard to the gypsy moth, and have been going over 

 the European literature, getting information from every source. This 

 report will contain several colored plates as well as i)lain ones, and will 

 give many things of special scientific interest. It is now in the hands 

 of the State printers. 



We have had a vast deal of work in cleaning trees, stone walls, and 

 fences. These Insects, when they reach the adult stage, go down the 

 trees and into cavities that are almost inaccessible. One must look in 

 every conceivable place. It takes time and is expensive. 



MEANS OF DISTRIBUTION. 



It is a remarkable fact th^tt the females do not fly. I was very much 

 interested in a paper read on the life history of the gyi)sy moth before 

 one of the entomological societies of Europe, in which the person who 

 had worked out the life history stated that the female has a pair of 

 forceps by means of which she pulls out the hairs from her body and 

 puts them upon the clusters of egg-^y, and this statement was really taken 

 in sober earnest by every member present, so far as I was able to judge. 

 It was stated that we claimed the female moth does not fly, and they 

 claimed that it was a lack of observation in the matter j that if we would 

 observe late in the night we would find that the females fly as rapidly 

 as the males. AVe have had observers working all night long. We 

 have had trees surrounded by a sort of Babel's tower, so the observers 

 could go up and watch the individuals. We marked the caterpillars 

 and exi:)erimeuted on the methods of marking them to determine one 

 which would not injure them. The marked cateri)illars were watched 

 to determine the time they started ; how they went, whether straight or 

 whether they hesitated; how they went u^) the tree; where they went; 

 how long they staj-ed, and whether they came back to the place from 

 which they started, or whether they lost their track and went somewhere 

 else, etc. 



Those men who were discussing the matter did not know what we 

 had been doing. I have been criticised because our rei)orts were not 

 full, because all this has not been given. These reports have been sim- 

 ply for the legislature, and how manj' members of the legislature will 

 read a report of any length when you are asking for money ? The more 

 money you ask for, the less they will read your report, and the com- 

 mittee said these reports must be very short. Nobody knows better 

 than Professor Riley how this matter is, for who has had more experi- 

 ence than he in getting appropriations? They look upon you in a 

 doubtful way, in a very different way from an audience like this. 



The territory over which the insect is spread was stated in my first 

 report to be a mile and a half long; but I stated then (and I had only 

 one day in which to inspect the territory) that the insect was in all 

 probability si)read over a larger territory. We are able to tell from the 

 character of the nesis (in fact, some of our men are so expert that they 



