44 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



Four years ago (1890) in the yards on the north side of Cotting 

 Street the gypsy-moth caterpillars stripped the trees bare of their 

 leaves. (John Cotton.) 



In 1890 I fought the pest. They came on to my place in mill- 

 ions in April. The top of my fence rail would be covered with 

 gypsy-moth cateq^illars about as small as ants. ... I would 

 take a brush broom and fight them perhaps an hour and a half. I 

 would destroy them in the morning, and at noon would find as 

 many more and clean them every one from my premises. At 

 night I went through the same operation. I destroyed undoubt- 

 edly millions. (W. W. Fifield, before the legislative joint stand- 

 ing committee on Agriculture.) 



Residents of Edgeworth make similar statements : — 



The caterpillars were very thick on the house in 1890. TThen 

 I went out of my side door I had to take a broom and brush them 

 off the platform. I killed quarts that summer. At the next house 

 they were just as bad. I swept them off above the door again 

 and again, and they seemed to be back again as thick as ever in 

 five minutes. An apple tree back of the house looked as if the 

 leaves had all been burned. A few blossoms would come out and 

 then wither away. I saw the gypsy-moth men burn the cater- 

 pillars by the pailful. (Mrs. B. "\Yallace, ^Vest Street, Edge- 

 worth.) 



In 1890 they were also plentiful, although not as thick as in 

 1889. I got few if any apples in either year. The caterpillars 

 were larger than your little finger. They would lie thickly to- 

 gether on the trunks of the trees. In the evening they were so 

 thick that they would drop down on the steps from above the 

 door. (William McLaughlin, 107 Oakland Street.) 



