The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-08-19
THE GYPSY MOTH.

Several Killed in Hartford-Massachu-
 setts Has Spent $5OOOOO to Get Rid of
 Them.
 Hartford, Aug. 1.-The gypsy moth, the terrible pest which for years has troubled the people of many towns in eastern Massachusetts and has cost that state about half million dollars to get rid of, has at last made its ap- pearance here. Thomas $. Frisbie dis covered Saturday that something had completely stripped all the leaves off one limb of his plum tree. An eXamin- ation of the limb revealed the presence of the terrible pests and he killed tWen- ty full grown eaters which were fast stripping off the leaves The gypsy moth kills all fruit trees that it attacks in two seasons, and the plum tree IS their first choice The ravages of the elm beetle are nothing in comparison with the gypsy moth. MT. Frisbie said that he had seen the moths in several places in Massachusetts and there was no mistaking them. The only worm that is similar to them is kind that infests English poplar trees.
 The gypsy moth, or ocneria dispar, is about 212 inches long and about half inch in diameter It is beautifully col ored. The body is brown. The knobs on the lower half of the body are blue and on the upper half red. The insect pest was first brought to public notice in Massachusetts in June, 1889. The legislature of 1890 authorized the gov ernor to appoint a commission to take the matter in charge, and appropriated $25,000 to carry on the work. Subse- quently more was appropriated, and when the work of preventing the spreading and securing the extermina- ton of the gypsy moth was begun about $75,000 was available for the com mission.
 The moths spread into the woods, gained a foothold in public parks and extended out into towns never before infested During the spring and sum mer months trees In the parks and pleasure grounds which were ordnar- fly covered and protected by their foli- age would be stripped and bare, their trunks and branches mass of crowl- ing caterpillars. Parks, roadsides, or chards, woodlands, gardens and all por-
 
 or trees grew were invaded by lots of voracious caterpillars which would be spinning down from the trees in great numbers upon passing vehicles and up- on the persons of the inhabitants. Experience has shown that when these caterpillars become numerous they crawl in great numbers upon and into the houses and buildings of all kinds; in fact, they intrude their disgusting presence everywhere. Wherever they become most numerous, so that the fo- liage disappears and food becomes scarce, the weaker are constantly dy- ing, and the stench from their decaying i bodies is nauseating.
 The following statement was made by the neighbor of a man who first brought the gypsy moths to this coun- try. "They ate nearly every green thing in my yard, killing my rose bush es and doing much damage to the veg etables. We killed many with boiling water and would then dig hole and bury them so as to prevent s@enck. MT. Belcher was poisoned by them. 1 While killing them upon .he trees they would get upon his r cs and poison it. I u was 111lpDSSlple to SlHy IOIS III LHe garden, for they would crawl all over me. When they matched out in the spring our fence would be one living mass. My sister and myself blistered the paint all off our fence with the 1 scalding water we poured on. We scooped a quart of eggs at a time off the trees
 Many methods were employed to de- stroy the pests. As the young caterpil- lars matched and appeared In the un- dergrowth on the borders of woodland they were destroyed by burning over small tracts with crude oil by means 1 of the cyclone burner. As the season 1 advanced traps containing artificially reared female moths were placed in the ! field and the males were attracted to i them in considerable numbers. The arsenites commonly used for spraying 1 foliage are intellectual with the gypsy ! moth.