ee eee 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
a 
GAIN IN MOTH WORK ON NORTH SHORE 
Shown by Report of Col. W. D. Sohier of Summer Residents’ Commitice. 
Situation Best Since Infestation Began. 
Approximately $60,000, nearly half of 
which was raised by — subscription 
among the residents of Beverly, Man- 
chester aud Magnolia has been spent 
during the past season in the campaign 
to save the North Shore forests fron 
the ravages of browntail and gypsy 
moths. An area of 3600 acres has been 
cleared and sprayed, and the commit- 
tee in charge of the work feels that it 
has placed the woods in a condition 
better than at any time since the in- 
vasion of the tree pests five years ago. 
A report on the work done has been 
prepared by Colonel William D. Sohier 
for the Summer Residents eommittee 
which is composed of Oliver Ames, 
Charles H. Tyler, William D. Sohier, 
Major Henry L. Higginson, Gardiner 
M. Lane and Geo. Wigglesworth. In its 
conduct of the work the committe has 
cooperated with the state and with the 
subscribers, giving them a protective 
belt back of their estates. 
_ Funds for the work were obtained, as 
in the past, from the public and from 
summer. residents. The allowance 
from the state was $22,500; the appro- 
priation by the city of Beverly was 
$5000 and by the town of Manchester 
$5000. Besides. this residents in Bev- 
erly gave $15,150; residents in Man- 
chester gave $8434 and _ residents in 
Magnolia gave $2985. ’ 
Discussing the results obtained the 
report says: ‘‘We exceeded all former 
records this year, partly because we 
were favored with good weather, but 
principally because of the increased ef- 
ficiency of our men and our spraying 
machines. Three thousand seven hun- 
dred and seventy-four acres were 
sprayed in twenty-three days. We had 
thirteen power spraying machines ac- 
tively at work, and one motor truck 
spraying machine. This truck took 
care of all the roadsides very much 
more advantageously, and for very 
much less money, than they have ever 
been cared for before. To a large extent 
this increased efficiency was secured by 
employing a high priced and competent 
mechanic, and by keeping the parts 
and supplies constantly on hand. 
‘*Your committees have adopted the 
policy of keeping enough of its more 
experienced men employed during the 
winter so that it will have efficient and 
competent foremen to direct the work 
the next year. This has proved a great 
economy. When the work started with 
th? low-powered spraying machines, we 
could not throw to the tops of the 
trees. It was then considered a good 
day’s work when a gang of eleven men 
and one power sprayer sprayed five or 
six acres aday. This year it was 
no unsual occurrence, where conditions 
were favorable, for one of the new 
machines with the same number of 
men to spray eighteen acres a day. 
The average acreage sprayed by each 
machine this year was something over 
twelve acres per day for the whole 
twenty-three days. We sprayed on 
an average of 164 acres a day. 
‘*Roughly speaking about 1000 acres 
of woodland were cleared and sprayed 
in 1908 about 2100 acres in 1909. about 
3000 acres in 1910, about 3200 acres in 
1911, and over 3600 acres in 1912. The 
cost was approximately as follows: 
LOOOvaeres in 908 wiser oe: $60,000 
DAO Ota CP as digi OO Mee sevs caeseentlouch «lc 60,000 
S000 -aeres am OLOM Oe <n. 57,000 
2300 acres in JOU oe. chee a.- 54,500 
SG00Pacres! in. 1912 eater, se cps 38,000 
“To all riders, drivers, pedestrians 
and bicyclists our beautiful wooded 
roads are one of the chief attractions 
of the North Shore. There are over 
thirty miles of these roads which have 
been built and are maintained wholly 
by subscription, at a cost of from $50 
to $75 a mile annually. This money 
is obtained from a few subscribers to 
the moth fund, who allow their sub- 
seriptions to be used for either moth 
work or road work. It did not seem 
advisable to try to collect two separate 
subscriptions for work in the woods, 
as the repair of these roads is, relative- 
ly, a small item. These roads from 
which automobiles are excluded, all of 
which have a conspicuous sign at the 
entrance to that effect, have from time 
to time been used by automobilists. 
‘«The writer hopes that all automo- 
bile owners on the North Shore will rea- 
lize that these wood roads are the only 
places today on the shore where ladies 
and children can drive with any com- 
fort, and where it is safe to allow 
young children, boys and girls, or even 
adults, to either ride or drive. The 
original posting of these roads for the 
exclusion of automobiles was made by 
the North Shore Automobile club. It is 
maintained by the writer, who feels 
- that it is only fair that the owners of 
motor vehicles should not operate them 
in these narrow, crooked roads, which 
are not thoroughfares, and which 
should be left to the uses for which 
they are adapted. He certainly speaks 
from no prejudices, as at present he 
does not use a horse, but has three au- 
tomobiles. There is one road now 
open to automobilists which is a 
short cut from Manchester and Ham- 
ilton, it being the new Manchester 
water works road, and running by the 
Chebacco house. The County. com- 
missioners of Essex County and the 
town of Hamilton are going to widen 
and improve the road to Hamilton this 
year, so it will be made safe for all 
classes of travel. 
‘¢The roads in Wenham and Hamilton 
leading to Myopia have been much im- 
proved this year. Your committees 
feel that all the residents on the North 
Shore are much indebted to Hon. Wil- 
liam H. Moore and Henry C. Frick for 
they have in the past. 
their interest and generous help. These 
two gentlemen have not ouly paid all 
the balance of the money it cost to oil 
and repair these roads beyond what 
was collected by subscription but they 
have also, from time to time, paid the 
entire cost of improving and widening 
them. 
““The committee sees a possibility 
that the work may be reduced a little 
in the future, but expresses a hope that 
the Commonwealth and the cities and 
towns will cooperate in the future as 
It hopes that 
every resident on the shore who enjoys 
the woods, the trees and the dustless 
roads will assist financially in main- 
taining satisfactory conditions. 
‘*Your committee feels,’’ says the 
report, ‘‘that the summer residents owe 
a great deal to Governor Foss and his 
state officials, the state foresters, sup- 
erintendents and men in charge of the 
work, to the mayor and city govern- 
ment of Beverly, and to the selectmen 
of Manchester, for their generous help 
and cooperation, without which it 
would have been impossible for your 
committees to have done systematic, 
thorough and efficient work against the 
gypsy moth under one responsible head 
and without regard to town lines. The 
selectmen of Hamilton have also co- 
operated by caring for many of the 
woods in that town. Without this co- 
operation and the money given by the 
state, municipalities. and subscribers, 
our forests and beautiful shores would 
have been greatly injured. 
‘‘The roads in Wenham and Hamil- 
ton leading to Myopia have been much 
improved this year. Messrs. Moore and 
Frick have not only paid all the bal- 
ance of the money it cost to oil and re- 
pair these roads beyond what was col- 
lected by subscription but they have 
also, from time to time, paid the en- 
tire cost of improving and widening 
them. This last year they paid for 
improving and widening at the hill by 
the little school house and for widening 
ot the corner in Hamilton near Mr. 
Bush’s house. They have also. re- 
quested that some very expensive im- 
provements be made at one or two 
other bad corners some of the work be- 
ing now in progress. 
““Tf it is possible to secure the assent 
of the authorities in the city of Bev- 
erly, and the town of Wenham, also 
that of the county commissioners, the 
corner will be much improved near Mr. 
Shaw’s at Preston Place by building 
the road in the new location across the 
field, widening at the corner. 
Messrs. Moore and Frick have each 
agreed to pay for one-half of the cost 
of the above improvement. 
‘“Grapevine road, Essex street, Rubbly 
road to Myopia entrance, parts of 
Larch Row and Walnut street were re- 
paired and oiled last year. The cost 
