Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-09-28
WASP PEST IN EASTERN MAINE.

! This has been a hard season for the
farmers of eastern Maine. says "A CORES
pondcnt of the New York sun. Grows have
dried up ia the fields and stock has grown
! lean for want of water. While all prod
uCts that yield money have suffered tad
~ insect life has waXed strong. In June
the apple tree Caterpilars were more
numerous than in any other year since the
civil war. Whole orchards. laden with
promises of abundant fruit. were stripped
bare of foliage, crippling the trees for
years to come. A month later the Colo
RADIO beetles came in hordos, nippinG the
/ potato stalks down to the ground and
darkcnnG midday with the shadow Of
passing wings. In August a plague Of
/ lccusts invaded the feds. They chcwcd
! off the heads Of standing grain and do
vastated the farms until they looked as (
a fire had swept the country
In September the homes of the farming
folks were stormcd by myriads of wasps
that stunc everything stingablc. A yell W
Jacket wasp with its Garb of orange and
| black is the most NcnomouS creatures Of
it's size that lives. The hot. dry weather
| has favored the production of WaSpS.
Their gray houses. which in ordinary seat
sons seldom grow beyond the size of A
two-qllart Upper. are Digger than water
! pals this year. and every structure holds
from j0o1o to 10000 armed warriors
Two weeks ago the skirmsh line APP
! I'dffu, SlpplNp the sweets from the fruit
| hung out to dry and buzzing about the
rooms in quest of fat flies. The main
army came week later when fruit was
! eaten from the trees, ripe tomatoes were
! destroyed on the vines and mosquito bar
/ screens in open windows were chcwcd to
lint.
Reports of serious injuries from WASH
StingS came from every county in Maine.
Mrs, Smithson Of Brooks, while trimming
the leaves from her crapeyines to admit
the light. found a colony of waSps at
home and will lose the sight of both eyes.
John Clark of Prospect has been unable to
put his shirt on over his head for Il week
because he disturbed wasp camp-lnce,-
ing. yellow Jackets interrupted "A mar
riase ceremony in an old church i'm
Brooksvillc on September ., compelling the
contracting parties to adjourn to "A near
by house before they could be made man
and wife.
Five college students who have beer
camping on the shores of Floods pond fol
two weeks resolved to have "A swimmlnc
match. The man who ran ahead joStled a
tree holding "A nest of waSps as he dash.
ed past. He was out of range before the
waSps got at him, but the four youth,
who tailed on behind were so badly pcl.
pored by the enraged insects that They
could not be removed from camp for a
week
The body of a young woman who died il
Tildcn early ia September was taken Il
Amherst to be placed I'M Il tomb. Whot
the rusty door was pried open the yellow
jacket poured out in such numbers lhar
the mourners and friends scattered il
haste. Two frantic horses in the process
sion ran away, and more than score o.
persons were badly stung.
Those who have had courage enough Il
approach a tenanted nest of wasus anc
Plug the entrance hole with chloruform
ed sponge say that the cells are crowde,
to fun capacity with young gruhs which
viii soon put on wings and become adul
: Wasps Indications are that the pests vii
continue to multiply rapidly until a fros
arrives to kill them off. The outlook I,
: that there will he no faliiNS off in mum
bers until October / or later