Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ...their ravages for a number of years, and every effort should be put forth to prevent them from being distributed to other parts of the country. Almost all fruit, shade, ornamental, and forest trees, except pines and other conifers, are attacked by the brown-tail moth, and the gypsy moth includes also the pine and other conifers and evergreens in its list of food plants. Almost nothing escapes destructive attack where both of these insects are present. They entirely defoiliate trees after they become plentiful. Trees wholly defoliated two years in succession are usually killed, and partial defoliation greatly checks the growth. In fact, they threaten the entire destruction of plant growth where they are allowed to multiply unchecked. The great destruction of orchards, shade, and forest trees in Massachusetts about 1890, led to the appropriation of large sums of money by the State for fighting these pests, and preventing their spread. Up to the year 1900 Massachusetts had spent, approximately, $1,250,000.00 under the Gypsy Moth Commission and the Board of Agriculture to prevent the spread of these serious insect pests. The work of control and suppression was getting on so well in 1900, that the people of Massachusetts lost sight, no doubt, of the future possibilities of its spread, and allowed the appropriation to lapse just at the time when a small appropriation would have put them in position to almost eradicate these insects. The next few years showed, however, that this was a great mistake, and in 1905 the Masaschusetts legislature made an appropriation of $150,000.00 per annum for this work, and in 1906 the appropriation was increased to $225,000.00. The national government has, also, taken a hand in this work and spent several hundred...