June, 1913 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
447 
The Forests of New York Threat¬ 
ened By the Brown-Tail and 
Gipsy Moth 
F OR several years Massachusetts has 
been spending large sums of money 
in fighting the Brown-tail and Gipsy 
Moths. These insects have spread west¬ 
ward in their devastating course and are 
now reported from a point not far distant 
from the eastern boundary of New York. 
In February a Conference was called in 
Boston by the State Forester of Massa¬ 
chusetts for the purpose of bringing to¬ 
gether not only those actually engaged in 
the fight with the Gipsy and Brown-tail 
Moths, but those who are sure to be con¬ 
cerned in the near future. The New York 
State College of Forestry at Syracuse 
University is investigating the work of 
these insects and Dr. M. W. Blackman, 
Forest Entomologist of the College, was 
its representative in the Conference in 
Boston and is ready to take up the fight 
against these insects when they appear in 
this State. 
Interesting facts were brought out at 
this Conference as to the spread of the 
Gipsy Moth. It is very certain that New 
York and other States about Mass¬ 
achusetts will soon be reached by these 
destructive insects and that unless more 
effective means are taken they will destroy 
not only forest trees but shade and orna¬ 
mental trees over large sections of the 
State. As shade tree pests these insects 
can be controlled by spraying and destroy¬ 
ing egg clusters but these methods are 
used only at considerable expense and 
must be continued indefinitely. It seems 
probable that as soon as the parasites and 
diseases introduced from abroad which 
work upon and destroy these insects have 
become fairly established that they will 
aid man greatly against future serious 
outbreaks. 
The Gipsy Moth problem of the future 
in the State of New York is a Forestry 
problem as the insect cannot be fought in 
the forest by spraying but must be con¬ 
trolled and eventually eliminated by proper 
methods of forest management. Certain 
trees such as the oak, willow and birch are 
apparently more favorable and often seem 
necessary for the development of the cater¬ 
pillars of the moths. Methods of forest 
management can be used which will re¬ 
move these trees from the forest and thus 
destroy the most favored food of the pests. 
With these methods of proper forest man¬ 
agement must go strict quarantine against 
lumber, cordwood and nursery products 
shipped in from infested areas. Some ef¬ 
fort has been made to establish a “dead 
line” to prevent further spread of the in¬ 
sect. A zone of timber consisting largely 
of white pine and other evergreens is 
selected and all hardwoods or broadleaf 
growth removed. As the insects are un¬ 
able to complete their life history on the 
pines, they are checked and it may be pos¬ 
sible to prevent their spreading northward 
into the Adirondacks, or into the Catskills, 
through the maintenance of such zones of 
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