4 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 1934 
treatment that has been applied. Twenty spraying machines were used through- 
out the season in the worst infested and most dangerous places. This entire 
Massachusetts area embraces some 1,067 square miles with much semimountain- 
ous country and included many locations where egg clusters that had been treated 
with creosote might have been sprayed to advantage had additional equipment 
been available and had it been possible to carry through an extermination plan. 
The results show very clearly that there were infestations sufficiently heavy to 
have caused defoliation this summer and opportunity for spread of the insect 
into the barrier zone next spring if treatment had not been applied. Up to this 
time only one large defoliated area has been found- west of the Connecticut River, 
and that is located within a few miles of the river. Scouting work was done in 
49 towns, and 36 were found to be infested. Some heavily infested areas were 
discovered within a few miles of the barrier zone. 
In Connecticut west of the Connecticut River conditions are not quite so serious 
as in Massachusetts. For a number of years the gypsy moth force, working 
under the direction of the State entomologist, has concentrated much effort 
in carrying on scouting and clean-up work in the towns west of the river, par- 
ticularly those near the barrier zone. As a result of this, smaller infestations were 
found in Connecticut; and in a considerable number of towns near the border of 
the zone and in the territory near Long Island Sound no infestation was discovered 
by the scouting force. Nineteen spraying machines were used in the State during 
June, and all colonies that were found during the year were either creosoted or 
thoroughly sprayed, or both. Scouting work was done in 70 towns, and 34 
towns were found to be infested. There is in the southern part of the barrier 
zone in Connecticut a rather large group of towns where the woodland has never 
been scouted, and this area, as well as the area in Vermont that could not be 
completed, should have early attention, there being a possibility that infestations 
of which we have no knowledge may be building up. 
During the winter civil works funds were made available for the States of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut to carry on gypsy moth scouting and treatment in 
territory east of the Connecticut River. This resulted in the treatment of large 
numbers of gypsy moth egg clusters and the discovery of large colonies in wood- 
land areas the presence of which was not known heretofore. This work was of 
great value, as it indicated the need for more detailed inspection and treatment, 
particularly in the area in these States where the gypsy moth was known to exist 
in only a relatively small number of localities. The value of this work is em- 
phasized by the fact that there now exist in the territory east of the Connecticut 
River more extensive defoliated areas than have ever been observed heretofore. 
The need for more work along this line is evident. 
Emergency conservation work on the gypsy moth was carried on from 18 camps 
in towns between the barrier zone and the Connecticut River — 1 in Vermont, 10 
in Massachusetts, and 7 in Connecticut. Originally these camps were all under 
the control of the Forest Service, but during the year 5 of those in Massachusetts 
were transferred to the supervision of the Department of the Interior. Scouting 
and the treating of egg clusters were carried on by these men under the super- 
vision of foremen experienced in gypsy moth work and contributed very materially 
to the results that have been obtained during the year on the gypsy moth problem. 
PROGRESS IN ERADICATING NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA OUTBREAKS 
In New Jersey the small force employed by the State put up and examined 
assembling cages during the summer and carried on scouting work in the area that 
seemed most likely to be infested. Three gypsy moth egg clusters were found at 
the site of the 1933 infestation. This area was sprayed early in June. The 
spraying machine, equipment, insecticide, and operator were furnished by the 
Bureau, and the unskilled labor was supplied by the State. 
In Pennsylvania a small amount of spraying was done immediately aftei July 
1, 1933, in order to complete the work that had been carried on in June of the 
preceding fiscal year. Four hundred and forty-eight acres of woodland and 
four hundred and forty-nine properties in residential sections were sprayed. 
Burlap bands were applied in especially dangerous areas, and all caterpillars 
found under them were crushed. Only a small force was carried during July and 
most of August, but by September 7 the force was expanding rapidly as a result of 
obtaining emergency funds from the Public Works Administration. This force 
was built up to 470 men and was maintained rather constantly until about the 
first of March, 1934, when a reduction in personnel became necessary. About 
the middle of May the force was increased for the spraying season. 
