12 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



and would crawl very fast. It seemed as if they could go from 

 here to Park Street in half an hour. 



Park Street, by reason of its nearness to Glenwood, soon 

 became infested by the moth. Mr. F. M. Goodwin, living 

 at the corner of Park and Washington streets, testifies inter- 

 estingly to this : — 



Some years ago I saw the eggs of the gypsy moth plastered 

 thickly on the bark of a willow tree on Spring Street. A great 

 many millers were laying their eggs there. The moths later worked 

 towards Park Street, and my neighbor's apple trees across the street 

 were stripped clean, leaving the young apples hanging on the bare 

 limbs. They crossed from this yard to mine, and I killed pecks 

 of them. . . . The caterpillars came into my yard by night. I 

 killed what I could during the day, and the next morning I would 

 find them as thick as ever. 



While the moths v^ere thus travelling to the west from 

 Glenwood towards Medford Square, others were moving in 

 all directions from places where they had become established 

 in former years. Tbey appeared in great numbers on Cross 

 Street, at the residence of Mr. F. T. Spinney, Medford's 

 postmaster, and crossed to the east side of the street. Their 

 movements there are recorded in the words of people whose 

 trees and gardens suffered. Said Mrs. Spinney : — 



I lived on Cross Street in 1889. In June of that year I was out 

 of town for three days. When I went away the trees in our yard 

 were in splendid condition, and there was not a sign of insect 

 devastation upon them. When I returned there was scarcely a 

 leaf upon the trees. The gypsy-moth caterpillars were over 

 everything. 



Three other residents of this neighborhood speak as fol- 

 lows : — 



In 1889 the caterpillars of the gypsy moth appeared at Spinney's 

 place on Cross Street, and after stripping the trees there started 

 across the street. It was about five o'clock one evening that they 

 started across in a great flock, and they left a plain path across 

 the road. They struck into the first apple tree in our yard, and 

 the next morning I took four quarts of caterpillars off of one limb. 

 (D. M. Eichardson, then living at 8J Cross Street.) 



