April, ’18] 
HUNTER: CANKER WORM CONTROL 
165 
In the spring of 1917 the canker worm began to ascend the 3d of 
January. On the 23d of January the city commissioners ordered the 
elm trees banded, and the cost of the work, when done by the city, 
taxed to the properties. The city banded 6,000 trees and the property 
owners banded 5,000 trees. Due to the lateness in beginning the work, 
some of the under branches were defoliated by the worms whose wing¬ 
less parents had ascended the trees before the bands had been put on. 
Not a single tree, however, that the city undertook to protect was 
stripped of its leaves, nor has a single one of these trees died; while 
in adjoining property under private protection, trees were defoliated 
and died and are now being used as a substitute for coal in furnaces and 
fireplaces. 
The city renewed the “Tanglefoot” from 10 to 13 times on the trees 
under its protection. The cost of labor and materials was covered on 
a scheduled price of twenty-five, fifty, and seventy-five cents per tree 
for the season, depending on the size of the tree. These renewals re¬ 
quired, likewise, the burning off of the insects on the bands, with a 
blow torch, before the fresh application of “Tanglefoot” could be put 
on. The bands were kept fresh with “Tanglefoot” until May 1. Unless 
the work is done thoroughly and persistently, it is possible for enough 
insects to cross the bands at such times as they are neglected, to make 
the work only partially effective. 
In dealing with the canker worm in cities the use of arsenical spray 
is not safe, practical, or economical. The spray stains the paint on the 
buildings and property owners object to its use over houses where roofs 
drain into cisterns. The expense is many times that of banding. 
Chief of all, however, is the fact that much of the damage is done by the 
canker worm at the initial opening of the bud before it is large enough 
to catch the spray. 
The plan of the administration under which banding was required 
was worked out by the city attorney. Under this plan the state en¬ 
tomologist was appointed city forester and instructed to have the work 
performed and the cost charged to the property owners, in accordance 
with state laws governing such work. 
A mattress factory made the tar paper bands with a mixture of cot¬ 
ton and jute glued to the under side. These bands were handled in 
rolls of twenty-five feet. Many experiments with adhesive substances 
were made for the purpose of covering these bands. Some of these 
were top thin, and others were too thick, and quickly coated over. The 
ingredients principally used in these experimental bands were mixtures 
of road oil No. 7, lime, castor oil, resin, vaseline, burlap soaked in kero¬ 
sene, etc. The female canker worm gave us many surprises by its 
strength in wading through adhesive substances. Taken altogether, 
