CUTTING AND BURNING. 165 



where it falls and burned later with the wood by means of a 

 running fire. Fire will dispose of the eggs upon the trees and 

 undergrowth, yet many will remain among the dried leaves 

 on the ground. In order to secure the destruction of the 

 caterpillars which hatch from these, the territory cleared 

 should be thoroughly burned over in the spring with the 

 cyclone burner. This should be done shortly after the young 

 caterpillars hatch. The cutting and burning should extend 

 for several hundred feet beyond the utmost confines of the 

 infested spot. The immediate effect of this treatment will 

 be to destroy all vegetation above ground, and as a conse- 

 quence any young caterpillars not reached by the flames will 

 starve. From the stumps of deciduous trees cut down, 

 sprouts will in time spring up. The burning will not kill 

 the roots and a new growth of trees will finally develop. 

 There will be no sprouts from the older coniferous trees, 

 as they do not renew their growth in this way, but are 

 replaced by deciduous trees. The burning is not entirely 

 without beneficial effect on the land. The ashes resulting 

 from the combustion of wood and dry leaves stimulate the 

 growth of such roots as are buried in the ground or beneath 

 the leaves and which send forth shoots under the influence 

 of sun and rain. Within a few months the entire burned 

 area will be covered with a growth of young plants and trees. 



A locality in Woburn where timber land is being cleared 

 in this way is shown in our illustration (Plate XXIX.). 

 The appearance of this woodland when attacked by the 

 gypsy moth may be seen by referring to Plate XYII. The 

 owner was willing that the ground should be cleared in 

 order to secure relief from the pest. The trees were first 

 cut down and the w^ood cut in eight-foot lengths and the 

 brush piled and burned, leaving the land ready for the final 

 burning with the cyclone burner in the spring. 



Valuable woodlands generally infested have been treated 

 by clearing away the undergrowth so as to leave nothing on 

 the ground for the insects to feed upon. In this work great 

 care must be taken to avoid injuring the trees by making too 

 hot a fire about their trunks. It is better to rake away the 

 dead leaves and undergrowth from the bases of the trees and 

 burn them than to risk girdling the trees by running a hot 



