1 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



territory, but in all localities to which it might spread. It is 

 unnecessary to detail the steps by which relief was brought about. 

 Mistakes were undoubtedly made at first, and it is to the work of 

 the present committee that the main credit is due. The infested 

 territory has been reduced by one-half, and within the districts in 

 which the gypsy moth at present exists it is, practically speaking, 

 a comparatively rare species. 



The future of the insect is, however, problematical. The con- 

 tinuance of suflSciently large appropriations from the State Legis- 

 lature to enable the work to be carried on on its present scale is 

 doubtful, and yet those in charge believe that still larger appro- 

 priations are necessary to bring about extermination. They are 

 confident, however, that with sufficient means the insect can be 

 absolutely exterminated from the State of Massachusetts. With 

 the Legislature disinclined to continue the large appropriations, 

 the methods of the committee at present pursued will have to be 

 seriously altered. Given a small appropriation of say $25,000 

 annually, it will become necessary to adopt some law, like that 

 enforced in California, whereby much less frequent inspection 

 may be made, and the committee will have to rely in part upon 

 voluntary observers for information. Moreover, they will be 

 unable to conduct spraying operations upon a large scale, and the 

 expense of the destruction of insects will have to be assessed upon 

 the owners of the property upon which the insects are found, pro- 

 vided such owners will not themselves undertake the destruction of 

 the insects. There will be many disadvantages from such a 

 course, and in the case of unproductive lands the expense will be 

 so great that the owner will prefer confiscation. Between some 

 such course as this and the continuance of the present methods, 

 however, there seems to be little choice, since if the appropriation 

 were taken away the insect will not only speedily reach its former 

 destructive height, but will spread far and wide over the country. 



It may be urged that it will be only a few years before the insect 

 will take its place as a naturalized member of our fauna, .and will 

 become subject to the same variations of increase and decrease as 

 our native species, and that it will, in fact, become little more to 

 be feared than species already existing with us, particularly if its 

 European natural enemies are introduced. Against this view, 

 however, it must be urged that the gypsy moth seems an ex- 

 ceptionally hardy species, and that even in Europe it is a prime 

 pest. The caterpillar is tough and rugged, and seems little sub- 

 ject to disease and to clunatic drawbacks, and is wonderfully resist- 

 ant to the action of ordinary insecticides. The gypsy-moth larva 

 will feed for days without apparent injury upon trees which have 



