77 



This act was approved March 14, 1890, and the Governor named W. W. 

 Rawson, of Arlington j Pearl Martin, of Medford, and J. H. Bradley, of 

 Maiden, as the Commissioners ; they organized March 22, 1890. The 

 appropriations for the work were authorized in the following act and 

 resolve, approved April 2, 1890, and June 3, 1890 : 



[Chap. 157.] 



AN ACT making an appropriation for the extermination of the insect known as the Ocneria dispar or 



Gypsy Moth. 



Sec. 1. A sum not exceeding twenty-Jive thousand dollars is hereby appropriated 

 to he paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth from the ordinary revenue, for 

 the purpose of meeting expenses authorized by chapter ninety-rive of the acts of the 

 present year providing against depredations by the insect known as the Ocneria dispar 

 or Gypsy Moth. 



Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. 



[Chap. 66.] 

 RESOLVE relative to the insect known as the Ocneria dispar or Gypsy Moth. 



Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth 

 a sum not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, in addition to the twenty-five 

 thousand dollars authorized by chapter ninety-five of the acts of the present year, 

 for the purpose of continuing the work of the Commission appointed under said act 

 in preventing the spreading and securing the extermination of the Ocneria dispar or 

 Gypsy Moth in the Commonwealth. 



Of this sum of $50,000 only $25,514.31 was expended during the work 

 of the season. 



Naturally the first work of the Commission was to determine the 

 limits of the infested region. The only data at hand stated that the 

 Ocneria was confined to an area in the form of an ellipse about a mile 

 and a half long by half a mile wide situated in Medford. It was at 

 once discovered that the Ocneria was abundant in many other localities. 

 By the end of May, 1890, the infested region was stated to cover a dis- 

 trict 4 miles wide and 16 miles long. 



At the end of their term of service (February 25, 1891), the Commis- 

 sioners stated that the infested territory was confined to Everett, Mai- 

 den, Medford, the westerly parts of Chelsea, the northwesterly of 

 Arlington, the easterly edge of Winchester, and a few scattered locali- 

 ties in Somerville, in all an area of about 50 square miles. The district 

 being determined, an inspection of trees, shrubs, fences, etc., followed, 

 all infested being marked with a piece of red flannel. Attention was 

 first given to the masses of eggs and their destruction was pressed 

 energetically until the first days of May, when spraying began. Lighted 

 kerosene torches were used to destroy the egg masses. They were 

 applied to the eggs in the positions in which they were found. 



Many acres of brush land were burned over. The work of spraying 

 began May 12 and was practically finished July 23. Mr. O. A.Longley 

 was in charge of the work and the insecticide used was Paris green, 

 one pound in 150 gallons of water. During the season about 2 tons 

 of Paris green were used and 70,000 trees sprayed. The spraying equip- 

 ment consisted of a cask mounted upon a wagon, a force pump with 

 stirrer, 100 to 200 feet of hose and nozzles. Four men accompanied each 



