NEWTON HIGHLANDS IMPROVEMENT 

 ASSOCIATION 



An Imminent Danger to Newton. The Leopard Moth 

 is here. This is the moth which has done so much damage 

 on Boston Common, in the Harvard College Yard, etc. 

 The caterpillar of the moth cannot be poisoned by spraying, 

 as he lives inside the branches of the trees. He bores tunnels 

 through the wood. Hand work against him is slow and 

 expensive; the only other way to defeat him is to use the 

 native birds to help us. It has been observed that where 

 our native birds are common the Leopard Moth is kept under 

 control. Woodpeckers drill holes in the wood to get at him, 

 and other birds eat him when he is crawling on the surface 

 to find a suitable place to begin boring. 



Let us not allow the trees of Newton to become wrecks 

 such as may readily be seen in parts of Cambridge and Boston. 

 Let us study what is being done to bring back the birds in 

 Dover, Brookline, and other places. Go to the Newton High- 

 lands Library and you will find there interesting information 

 on this subject. 



Get the children interested in the birds also. 



The bird-nesting season lasts through May and June, and 

 sometimes into July. Many more birds will raise their 

 broods successfully if cats are shut up during this time. 

 A cat can easily be made harmless by using a box and a 

 little poultry netting as a house and roofed-over yard. If 

 Any Family is Thinking of Getting a Pet the Improve- 

 ment Association Suggests a Dog, or Some Other Animal 

 that Does not Attack Birds. Best of all, tame and 

 make pets of the birds themselves. 



In the fight to protect our Garden City against the Leopard 

 Moth, do not forget to attract desirable birds by bird houses, 

 which should be put up in October or February. The Library 

 has information about the best kinds. Houses put up next 

 October will provide sleeping places for winter birds, and 

 growing weather-beaten, will be still more attractive to nesting 

 birds next spring. 



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