THE SPRUCE BUDWORM. 
Investigations carried on by the Forestry Department of the 
University of Maine and the Maine Agricultural Experiment 
Station, at Orono, 1919. 
HE Spruce budworm (Tortrix fumiferana Clemens) is with 
a small doubt the most destructive enemy of the spruce, fir and 
: hemlock in Maine. It is probably native to this country, al- 
though it is well known in England. An account of the earlist 
known injuries by the budworm is given by Dr. Packard in which 
he establishes the probability that the wide-spread destruction of 
spruce in the Casco Bay region in 1807 was due to this insect pest. 
However this may be, it is certain that it was responsible for the 
death of a large percentage of the red spruce in this same region 
and also in many other localities along the coastal area of Maine 
from Portland to Rockland, in an infestation which reached its 
apex in 1878 and 1879. This outbreak, so far as we know, was 
confined to the islands and coastal area and did not extend inland 
any great distance. Following this great destruction, the insect 
seems to have disappeared so far as attracting any general atten- 
tion is concerned for a period of more than thirty years. However. 
since 1911 numerous inquiries and complaints of its depredations 
have been received both by the Entomologist of the Maine Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station and by the Department of Forestry. 
The present outbreak seems to be a much more serious and 
destructive one than that of thirty years ago, for its extent com- 
prises not only the coast regions but practically every wooded area 
of the state. Indeed by far the greatest amount of damage has 
occurred in the inland portions of the state, especially in Somerset, 
Piscataquis, Aroostook and Washington Counties in regions remote 
from the coast and covered with dense forests of spruce, balsam fir 
and mixed hardwoods. From enquiries sent in to the Experiment 
Station and the Department of Forestry, from reliable informa- 
tion from various sources, and from personal observation, it is 
certain that the insect was- present to an alarming extent in 
