Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-13
CATERPILLAR HOST
EATS CITY'S TREES
Tussock Moth Army Divi-
sion Raids Fairmount
Park, Too
NEED MONEY TO END DRIVE

The tree population of Philadelphias
streets, numbering close to 15O, 900, and the
trees in Fairmount Park that run into the
hundreds Of thousands are suffering from
the worst epidemic of the tussock moth
caterpillar known within the last twenty
years
The cruX Of the situation Is that the park
commissioners need $4,000 year to take
care of the trees properly so as to prevent
ravagcs that I'm many instances are leaving
the trees stripped bare. Councils allowed
the commissioners $4,000 for this year and
there is today only little over $4,000
naming from that appropriation to meet
the present emergency and prepare for the
second generation of these Caterpillars the
latter part of August And the second crop
will be as destructive as the first unless the
eggs of this first tussOck moth army dvi-
sion are wiped out.
Every man connected with the Park Com
missions force II today caterpillar
killer" enlisted In the endeaVor to save the
trees. There are seven spraying gangs on
the city streets and as many in the park
and flying corps of men to answer
emergency calls from various sections of
the city wherein the residents apply to the
department for help In such cases the
entire block is gone over, as the streets for
the most part act as barriers
The bands Of tangefoot which were
placed upon upward OF 10000 trees through
out the city have saved the foliage on just
about that many, az the Caterpillars cannot
crawl above the sticky zone. These cater
pillars now are making the cOcoons upon
which the second crop of moths will emerge.
to lay new eggs that will hatch out new
CateTpilIars.
Thomas $. Martin. secretary of the Com
missioners Of FairmOunt PARK, when seen
in his office at city Hall today. said that
1t was an especially bad epidemic, but that
the arboriculturlst, S. n. Baxter. was out
on the streets with his men, and Alexander
NJ tAllee, the new landscape gardener OF
airmount Park, was at work within his
jurisdiction doing all In their power to stop
the ravaging of the foliage lie admitted
that the forces of the commission had been
overwhelmed by the caterpillars.
That the city has thought more about
planting trees than taking care Of them
afterward was one of the reasons given
by John j. PrentZel. assistant landscape
gardener of the Park. for the department
being swamped by the present epidemic.
THE main thing" he said, "is to get the
whole city pruned and sprayed and then
to maintain that condition, but $50 900 Is
necessary to carry It out. The highest we
have had was in 1914 when $4,000 was
| allowed
Some peculiar atmospheric condition is
responsible for such an outbreak OF the
CateTpllldTS lnlS year, OF elset pOHSlDlN last
| year not so close attention was given to
| cleaning them up as should have been.
| Certainly there are more in evidence now
| than have seen for the last twenty years -
EFFECT OF DEVASTATION
That the crawling, yellow red-tufted
| caterpillars do not kill tree, although they
| may strip II bare of leaves, was made clear
| by David Rust, secretary of the Philadel-
| phia Horticultural Society.
The tree would grow leaves again md
| stand the Tigors of winter but the leaves
the following spring would be smaller than
| usual because the leaf buds would be
weaker These buds are fed and built VI
| from the leaves OF the previous year, so that
| il would take at least two seasons for a
| tree to recuperate fully from an attack, and
of course, continued piIferings would finally
| kill the tree