NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
MANCHESTER, MASS., SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1908. 
GYPSY MOTH WORK ON THE NORTH SHORE. 
[The following statement onthe gypsy 
moth work on the North Shore, and 
calling attention to the seriousness of the 
situation, is made by Col. Wm. D. So- 
hier. | 
We started on the workin March with 
25 men, and increased up to a force of 
420 men. We have treated by clearing 
and burning the underbrush and ground, 
over 1000 acres, having 420 men at 
work at the end of that time. Good 
forestry work was done, the brush cleared 
and burned and all nests creosoted by 
the tree-climbers. 
We have found about 900 more acres 
which are more or less thickly infested, 
although some of them have not very 
many moth nests, but we have been un- 
able to treat them as yet. 
The first $30,000 were provided by 
agreement between Acting (Governor 
Draper, A. H. Kirkland, Supt. Gypsy 
Moth Commission, the City of Beverly, 
the Town of Manchester and the Sum- 
mer Residents Committee consisting of 
Oliver Ames, Charles A. Tyler, and 
Col. W. D. Sohier, as follows: The 
State contributed $10,000, the City of 
Beverly $5,000, the Town of Manches- 
ter $5,000, and the Summer Residents 
Committee $19,000. “This substantially 
paid for the work up to the time when 
spraying Was necessary. 
Four large spraying machines were 
bought from the fund, and have been 
constantly in use since. Where the 
woods have been cleared up and treated, 
they are each capable of spraying about 
10 to 15 acres a day. Inthe worst col- 
onies, of course, many nests were not 
treated, and there has been some defolia- 
tion, very noticably near Montserrat and 
the Beaver Pond colonies and Beverly, 
and some stripping in Manchester. Here 
we have endeavored to spread a protective 
belt around the colonies so that the cat- 
erpillars will be killed when they move 
outside and begin to eat. Mr. Kirkland 
estimates that this work will save a great 
many trees, and will lessen the cost for 
next year. 
A subsequent agreement was made 
whereby the State provided $5,000. and 
the Summer Residents Committee $5000, 
to pay for the spraying, and this sum has 
enabled usto continue the work upto the 
present time. More: money will be 
needed shortly, or it is inevitable that the 
North Shore woods, which form the 
chief beauty of Beverly and Manchester, 
will be destroyed, as one stripping of the 
pine or hemlock trees absolutely kills 
them. ‘The Summer Residents Com- 
mittee raised something over $20,000 by 
subscription, and it hopes that many re- 
sidents who have not yet subscribed will 
do so when they realize the actual con- 
ditions. 
The colonies extending as they do— 
a good many colonies over 100 acres 
each—from Montserrat in Beverly along 
through Witch Woods to Pride’s Cross- 
ing, back to West Beach and Beverly 
Farms by West Beach Hill in Brook- 
wood Road and elsewhere, back to 
West Manchester, one large one in the 
middle of Manchester, and two on the 
Manchester road, as well as other areas 
down by Manchester Cove near Mag- 
nolia station and up on the Gloucester 
line—would have entirely defoliated all 
the trees on the shore this summer if the 
work had not been begun when it was, 
and vigorously pushed. 
It must be remembered that any in- 
fested area, when the nests hatch out, 
only provides enough food for the cater- 
pillars which hatch upon that area, to 
last them for two or three weeks. ‘The 
trees are then all defoliated and the cater- 
pillars have to migrate in every direction 
in order to find food. They then spread 
as an army, covering the ground like a 
carpet, and defoliate all the trees in the 
neighborhood. By this time they are 
larger-and require more food each day, 
and the number of acres that a colony 
will defoliate in a year, as the caterpillars 
grow up, is from 6 to 10 times the area 
upon which they were hatched. As 
there were 1000 acres that were badly 
infested, it can be readily seen that there 
were more than enough caterpillars that 
would have been hatched out if this 
work had not been done, to have defo- 
liated and destroyed substantially all the 
woods in Beverly and Manchester at 
least. : 
(A map of the infested area was to 
have been printed but did not arrive from 
the engraver in time. It will be printed 
next week. —Ep. ) 
New Train Schedule. 
‘The summer arrangement of trains 
goes into effect next Monday.. We re- 
gret that we are unable to print a cor- 
rected schedule in this issue, the neces- 
sary changes not being at hand up to 
Friday morning. As a matter of fact 
the schedule is practically the same as 
last year, and differs but very little from 
the present arrangement. No new 
trains are added, with the exception of a 
Saturday afternoon train leaving Boston 
at 1.15 and returning leaves Rockport at 
2.50. While there are slight changes 
in one or two cases of a minute or two, 
there is no material change in any of the 
trains except that which usually goes up 
the branch between six and seven at 
night. ‘This train will go about 20 
minutes earlier, and will leave Manches- 
ter for Boston at 6.23, and Beverly 
Farms at 6.27. : 
Col. William D._ Sohier, 5 
head of the movement for open- 
ing up old wood roads all along 
the North Shore announces that 
Forrest Lane, (Road No. 2) is 
now passable for carriages and 
riding. ‘The new road _ leads 
from Forest street, Manchester, 
and Mr. Dexter’s road, along 
by  Haskell’s Pond, West 
Gloucester, about three miles, 
to the electric car line running 
between Gloucester and Essex. 
The hill at the dam and the 
whole road willbe improved lat- 
er. ‘his isthe first of the woods 
roads to be opened up in the 
Gloucester section. "The gen- 
eral plan includes the opening 
up of several more in connection 
with the one already opened. pl 
The accompanying cut, show- Gorn, 
ing Forrest Lane and connect- 3g 
ing woods roads, was loaned 
through courtesy of Col. Sohier, 
Ned: 
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Jj Wood Roads froundy) 
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Not open to 
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