110 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



jority of larvae transported on vehicles are undoubtedly shaken 

 or brushed off before many miles are traversed. 



The possible danger attaching to freight shipments by rail 

 from Maiden and Medford was investioated bv an examina- 

 tion of ''freight forwarded" books at the various stations. 

 The examination of these books revealed the origin, character 

 and destination of shipments since 1880. The origin and 

 character of shipments immediately revealed the danger, if 

 any, attaching to them. To illustrate : Manufactures and 

 household goods, constituting the bulk of shipments, com- 

 ing as they do from in-doors^ are practically safe shipments ; 

 while articles which have been exposed out of doors, such as 

 empty boxes, nursery stock, bricks, stones, scrap iron or 

 builders' materials, may, if coming from an infested locality, 

 be dangerous shipments. In this connection the matter of 

 date of shipment was important. Some articles, by reason 

 of their place of origin, might be dangerous shipments only 

 during the larval season ; others, only during the months 

 when the eggs are the only living form of the moth. Fi- 

 nally, the examination of the freight books revealed the 

 receivers of goods (whether in or out of the infested district) . 



The danger of moth transportation on freight sent by rail 

 was shown by the investigation to be very slight. The 

 proportion of shipments which on account of their character 

 or frequency might be considered as dangerous was extremely 

 small.* The destination of these being known, it was possible 

 to do supplementary work in the nature of inquiry and 

 inspection at these points of destination. In most cases such 

 work was done. 



The matter of shipments of bricks from Medford deserv^es 

 special mention in this connection both because of its intrinsic 

 importance and as an illustration of the methods of inquiry 

 pursued. The premises of the Anderson Pressed Brick 

 Company were in the past badly infested. Shipments of 

 brick had been made to many points outside the infested 

 territory. Most cases were investigated and an inspection 

 made at the places to which the brick had been shipped. In 

 this work the agents of the Board visited a number of towns 



* This is equally true of freight shipments over the liighway. 



