for trees in the woodlands themselves. In 1905 and 1906, therefore, large areas of such woodlands and parts of some of the larger parks were stripped, and thousands of trees, especially pines, were destroyed and had to be cut down and turned into cord wood. Pine Banks Park, for instance, last summer presented a depressing spectacle of standing dead pines, stripped and dead deciduous trees, and piles of cord wood derived from trees already cut down. Lynn Woods Park had to be closed to the public, and it is stated on good authority that the caterpillars became so numerous on the rails of the electric roads, in one place at least, as to interfere with the running of the cars because of the presence of their crushed bodies. HISTORY OF THE GYPSY MOTH IN RHODE ISLAND. (See map of Providence and vicinity). The first appearance of the gypsy moth in this country outside of Massachusetts was in the city of Providence. This colony was discovered in 1901. According to a pamphlet published by the Rhode Island State Board of Agriculture and written by Mr. Southwick, the following is a history of its discovery: Mr. Prescott D. Reynolds was the first person to discover and report the appearance of the moth in America outside of Massachusetts. He is one of the several amateur entomologists of Providence, and is particularly interested in the collection of moths and butterflies. He discovered a few female moths, and their very characteristic patches of eggs, Wednesday, July 31, 1901, on some shade trees in Courtland street. They were on the trunks of the trees close to the edge of the sidewalk and liable to be rubbed off at any time. The specimens were carried to Mr. Southwick, who identified them as the gypsy moth. Mr. George A. Stockwell, Secretary of the R. I. State Board of Agriculture, was notified, and on his recommendation Mr. Southwick went to Boston to confer with the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, which had in charge the gypsy moth work in that State. Secretary Stockwell of this Board and Mr. Kirkland accompanied Mr. Southwick back to Providence in order to investi gate the extent of this new infestation. They were met at the depot by Secretary George A. Stockwell and by Mr. Reynolds, and proceeded at once to the place where the insect had been found. It was thought from the appearance of the infested district that the insect had been established about two years and that the area comprised from five to ten acres. A conference was held with acting Mayor William K. Reynolds and a number of members of the city council at the city hall, as a result of which Mr. Southwick was authorized to spend $25 in further investigation. Through the kind co-operation of Mr. Kirkland, the services of Mr. F. H. Mosher, an experienced assistant on the Massachusetts gypsy moth work, were secured for the purpose of ascertaining the full extent of the colony. Later the city increased the appropriation for the work to one hundred dollars ($100), and the city of Providence was quite thoroughly scouted. August 24, Mr. Southwick reported that the scouting had revealed a much larger territory than was at first suspected, and that the moth was spread between Westminster and Broadway from Courtland street to Harkness street, and between Westminster and Cranston streets from Bridgham street to Dexter street. It was also found along the west side of Elmwood from Sprague street to Columbus street, and o Lexington and Adelaide avenues; and another small section wa bounded by Broad and Taylor streets and Harvard and Comsto There were two small outbreaks on Prairie avenue a on Thurber's avenue, and one on Huntington avenue. Arou Benedict Pond a decidedly bad condition was found. Mr. Southw surmised that it extended over the city line into Cranston, but scouting could be done there because the appropriation under w this work was done confined it to the city of Providence. The tions mentioned are indicated in diagonal black lines on the ac avenues. panying map. HISTORY OF THE AGITATION FOR A CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE GYPSY MOTH IN RHODE ISLAND. The writer regrets that he has not had time to look very fully into the history of what was done previous to last fall with a view of securing legislation to suppress or exterminate the gypsy moth. A number of the reports of the State Board of Agriculture call attention to the presence of the insect and advocate appropriations and legislative measures to deal with the situation. Two years ago a bill carrying an appropriation of about three thousand dollars was introduced by John G. Clarke, Sec. of the State Board of Agriculture, but failed to secure the necessary support for passage. From time to time a number of private citizens have been calling the attention of the State Board of Agriculture and some of the members of the legislature to the need of such legislation. Private enterprise has also been active looking toward conducting a fight against the gypsy moth. Notable among these was the Providence Tree Protection Society. This society was organized at the instance of Mr. Alfred Stone, who has taken an active interest in this as well as other lines of legislation dealing with insect pests. This organization raised quite a little sum of money and engaged men to destroy the elm leaf-beetle, gypsy moth, and other tree pests. Last spring the residue of the funds of this society was turned over to the Park Board and by them used in combating the gypsy moth in the neighborhood of Roger Williams Park. The history of the work which led up to the appropriations of last year, being more recent, has been more easily ascertained. At a meeting of the Rhode Island Horticultural Society at Providence in November, 1905, Dr. Wheeler, Director of the Rhode Island Experiment Station, related his experiences on a trip through the infested regions of Massachusetts and called the attention of the members of that society to the danger which threatened the horticultural interests of Rhode Island from the gypsy moth colony which had become established in Providence. Subsequent to this meeting, Dr. Wheeler arranged a meeting of representatives of various agricultural societies of the State and organized what was called an Agricultural Federation. This included the following societies: State Board of Agriculture, Washington County Agricultural Society, Newport County Agricultural Society, Newport Horticultural Society, Florists' and Gardeners' Club, Rhode Island Poultry Association, State Grange. At a meeting of this federation a committee consisting of Judge Bliss and Dr. Wheeler was appointed to draw up an act for the General Assembly. The act so framed was introduced in the House the second day of the session, taken up under the suspension of rules and passed. It provided for an appropriation of $5,000 and a commission, composed of one man from each county, which should serve without pay, and which should have power to hire a superintendent to have immediate charge of the work. This act failed of passage in the Senate, that body framing a new act similar to the one now in operation. The two houses failed to agree on a compromise act until the very last days of the session when the resolution now in force was finally passed. The final passage of this bill was undoubtedly due to the hearty support of the idea that some legislative action should be taken by a great number of Rhode Island citizens, including members of the various organizations already named, as well as that of the Rhode Island League for Rural Progress, which, through its president, Hon. R. G. Hazard, and its executive committee, strongly urged the passage of some act which should deal adequately with the problem. At a meeting of this League, held in April, and just before the close of the session of the Assembly, Supt. A. H. Kirkland of Boston was present and gave an address on the gypsy moth problem. A number |