Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-14

trust MN Iuily, ana always 90 a.
erpillars but upon the pupae as well.
Even DR.. Howard now thinks that these
beetles will become "a powerful force, >"
to quote his own words, in checking the
moths
In the effort to overcome some of the
earlier disappointments in importing in
sects Mr.. Fiske, the director of the la
boratory, himself went abroad last year
and undertook personally to collect and
ship material In this way large quanti-
ties of highly desirable species were de-
livered here in good order, and these
were later planted out and he has again
gone to Italy this winter on the same
errand.
Attacking the Pest With Disease.
From this it appears that the faith
placed in the parasite and the predatory
beetles has not been misplaced. In addi-
ton to this phase of the fight there $
the promising work that is being done
by some of the scientific staff at Harvard
in developing bacterial and fungus dis
eases inimical to the health of the moth
tribe. The so called wilt disease has had
its innings this past summer in several
localities TO the CONSERVATION of the
caterpillars There have also been i'm
portant developments in the methods of
field work under the state Forester's d.
feetion which are contributing to the ef-
fectfveness of the campaign. More eff
eient and less costly methods have been
devised and, as has been said before.
politics have been in great measure
eliminated, thus insuring a more effee-
tive working force A single instance
will suffice to illustrate the improve
ment in methods IT was for a long time
thought to be impossible to spray wood
lind except at a cost that was entirely
out of all reason With the old-fashioned
street tree and orchard outfits tins was
undoubtedly the case \ series of ex-
pcriments with apparatus eventually de-
veloped the high power sprayer, throw
ing streams of poisoned water from the
ground instead of fine nlists from the
upper branches The result has been that
an acre of woodland can now be sprayed
in short order. and at a cost of about
one seventh of what It was under the
old system.
There is yet another phase of the cam
paign which has only lately been de-
veioped to a point which would warrant
its being talked much about. This is a
sylvcultural phase and it is likely to
prove of great consequence to the wood
land interests of the country. For years
the presence of these moths, and espee-
tally of the gypsy moth has been a fear
ful handicap upon anyone interested in
the growing of timber and wood. 1T was
found very early that the gypsy cater
pillars would eat practically every kind
of tree and shrub which grows i'm this
region. Even the pines and spruees and
hemlocks fell an easy prey 20 the hordes
of hungry creatures, and many acres of
valuable pine timber have been killed by
the stripping. Eventually it dawned up
on the observers that there were certain
species which furnished the favorite food
of the caterpillars, and that they did not
take TO certain other species except as a
last resort. 1t was once asserted in a
hearing before the Legislature that where
the caterpillars were swarming unre-
strained and the food supply was short
they would turn to anything that was
green. so that on farms in this infested
country it was no longer safe to paint
tools and carts that color,
The next discovery WIS that the verv
young caIefpllldfS were pHNS4cHlly uu-
able to eat the pines and other conifers,
and that it was only the older and
stronger iawed specimens that could do
mischief in those trees.
This was proved my experiments in
which infested pine woodlots We're
treated by simply cutting out all the de-
ciduous trees, the tops of which hung
over into the pines, and by efcircling
the pine trunks with bands of tangle-
foot. 1t was found that when the eggs
on the pines Matched out the young
caterpillars Immediately spun down to
the ground to look for food. If they
found enough in the shape of under
growth to enable them to develop. they
eventually. when large enough. tried TO
climb back into the pines to feed. Here
they We're met by the sticky bands and
repulsed. Had a deciduous tree been left
anywhere in the midst of the pines, with
its egg clusters untreated, the young
caterpilars on that tree would feed there
until the tree was stripped and then
would crawl over or spin over into the
neighboring pines. and SO spread around