ction of the Gipsy moth.

This is a moth whose larvae (as the caterpillars are called) do so much
damage to foliage that the State has spent large sums of money in an
attempt to destroy the troublesome pest. The matter has now been brought
to the attention of Congress, and in the last Agricultural Appropriation
Bill a special provision was made for a careful investigation of the
matter.

The caterpillar of the Gipsy moth strips the trees of their leaves as
completely as if they had been swept by fire. Almost every variety of
tree, as well as of farm or garden crop, is attacked by these worms, and
the farmers in Eastern Massachusetts are terror-stricken over the army of
them which yearly attacks their crops.

The history of the introduction of the Gipsy moth into this country is a
somewhat curious one.

The moth is not a native of this country, but of Germany and Austria,
where vast sums of money have also been spent by the governments in a vain
endeavor to get rid of it.

In 1869 a French naturalist came over to this country and settled in
Medford, Mass.

He had brought some Gipsy moth eggs with him from Europe, and intended
making some experiments with them.

He had the eggs out on his table one morning when he was called away from
his work. He went out of the room, leaving the eggs lying near the window.

When he returned he found that a puff of wind had blown the whole paper of
eggs out of the window.

He ran down into the garden and searched everywhere for the lost eggs, but
in their flight through the air they had become scattered, and he was
unable to find them.

He well knew the dangerous character of the worm which hatches out of
these eggs, and he went all round the village, explaining to every one,
warning every one, and imploring every one to be on the look-out for the
caterpillars when they should appear.

The inhabitants of Medford thought he was a crazy Frenchman, and took no
notice of his warning.

It was twenty years after this before the people began to suffer from the
ravages of the caterpillar, though for several years the neighbors of the
old naturalist had been annoyed and puzzled at the way in which their
gardens were eaten up.

In 1889 the worms became so numerous, and did so much damage, that the
Legislature set aside a sum of money for their destruction, and appointed
a number of scientific men to undertake the work.

Every spring since then the Gipsy Moth Commission has been a