PLATE XVIII.

A tangle near the railroad tracks and freight yards at Olneyville. This was badly infested with the gypsy moth and had to be thoroughly cleared and burned over.

plague as serious as it was before the work against it commenced. Appropriations were again called for. The work was renewed and inspections soon revealed that the insect had not only increased to its former proportions in places where it had formerly been located, but, worst of all, it had spread over an area eight times the size of that previously infested, or an area equal to more than twice that of Rhode Island. By the aid of State and local appropriations amounting to three quarters of a million dollars the pest is now being held in check in thickly settled localities, but it is impossible to deal with it in woodlands and large parks, and hundreds of acres of such lands have been stripped during the past two years.

In Rhode Island we have as yet only a comparatively small area infested, but the colony is remarkably healthy and the area infested is large when we consider that the insect has been in the State not more than seven or eight years. If left unchecked, all possible evidence from its past history in this country points to the probability that it will only be a few years before the insect will have spread over the entire area of the State and westward into Connecticut. It will then be intrenched in some of our waste woodlands, where no money which the State will be able to raise can dislodge it. Individuals will then have to fight it at great expense, and our cities and towns will have to appropriate large sums of money to keep it in check in order to preserve the shade and ornamental trees and the parks and gardens. The aggregate of such appropriations and expenses for each year will undoubtedly be far greater than that now asked for with an exterminative policy in view, to say nothing of the personal loss and discomfort which our citizens will experience.

There is a hope for relief from parasitic enemies, but this is as yet only a hope. The insect has been in the country for thirty-six years, and none of our native parasites has been found able to keep it in check, and therefore but little can be expected from them. An effort is being made to introduce parasites from its native habitat, but whether these will successfully establish themselves is still entirely uncertain. And should they fail, our State would indeed be in a serious predicament if it ceases to fight the gypsy m the idea that parasites will keep it in check. The most h entomologists say that it should be possible to establish th parasites here, but whether that happy circumstance will from now or a hundred years, it is absolutely impossible anyone to predict.

DISCUSSIONS AS TO THE FUTURE POLICY OF THE STATE IN

TO THE GYPSY MOTH AND THE NEED OF APPROPRIATIO

There seems to be almost a unanimous feeling throughout th that something must be done to check the pest. There is som tion as to whether a policy of suppression or one of extermi should be followed. The concensus of opinion of nearly all e who know our conditions, as will be noted from their letters on pa to 73, seems to be in favor of extermination, and from the exper and observations of last summer the writer is thoroughly in fav this policy. The principal arguments in favor of extermination briefly, as follows: It will be far cheaper in the end. The area infes is still comparatively limited. Most of it is residential and theref quite easily taken care of, and little of it is in tangled woodland where the insect is dislodged with difficulty. The State is some di tance from the infested territory in Massachusetts, and can, therefor be protected from reinfestation. The State of Massachusetts and the United States Government are pursuing a policy which should prevent its spread from Massachusetts, or reduce the possibility thereof to a minimum. Other States, notably Maine and New Hampshire, expect to follow an exterminative policy, and they are not so favorably situated as we are. It is the surest way of preventing the spread of the insect throughout the State.

The only arguments in favor of a policy of suppression are that it is easier to pursue and cheaper for the immediate future. According to the estimates of Supt. Kirkland, an exterminative policy will cost perhaps twenty-five per cent. more than one of suppression. It is possible that later parasites will keep the insect in check. In reply