84 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



were filled by the election of Messrs. John G. Avery of 

 Spencer and S. S. Stetson of Lakeville. 



The report of the Board of Agriculture, containing a recom- 

 mendation for an appropriation of two hundred thousand dol- 

 lars, was presented to the legislative committee on agriculture 

 immediately after its organization in January. Some oppo- 

 sition to the appropriation developed in the committee, and 

 the time and attention of the members were occupied for 

 some weeks with other important measures. This committee 

 held public hearings during the week beginning February 11, 

 at which hundreds of citizens from the infested towns were 

 present. The preponderance of sentiment was in favor of 

 granting the appropriation asked for. On March 21 the 

 committee finally acted upon the matter, and reported a 

 resolve calling for an appropriation of one hundred and fifty 

 thousand dollars. Although this amount was looked upon 

 by the Board of Agriculture as entirely inadequate, there 

 appeared to be fully as much danger to the work by delay in 

 making the appropriation as by reduction of its size. The 

 committee on tlie gypsy moth, insects and birds therefore 

 endeavored to urge upon the General Court the immediate 

 passage of the bill as reported by the committee on agri- 

 culture. But it was not until May 17 that the appropriation 

 of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars finally became avail- 

 able. Early in the year the appropriation of 1894 was nearly 

 exhausted and on February 6 the field force was discharged. 

 The work of destroying the eggs of the moth, which should 

 have been carried on during the spring in those portions of 

 the infested towns not wholly cleared of them in the fall, was 

 thereby brought to an end. Thus the experience of 1894 was 

 repeated, but the amount of working time (three months) lost 

 in 1895, owing to the lateness of the appropriation, was much 

 greater than in the previous year. The discontinuance of the 

 field work in 1895 was especially disastrous because occurring 

 in an early spring which later developments showed was par- 

 ticularly favorable for the moths' increase. The great mul- 

 tiplication of the numbers of the moth which occurred during 

 this favorable season, their scattering abroad and the con- 

 sequent injury to trees by their feeding, might have been 

 prevented by destroying the eggs in the spring. 



