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Take the "war on the gypsies" in New Jersey. A short time ago the gypsy-moth was found to be doing a great deal of mischief. Scouting (that's just what it's called) by the State Forestry Service showed that, in the six counties infested, there were 855 colonies, containing, as such colonies run, 3,000,000 eggs. The finding and destruction of these colonies, which would have spread not only over Jersey but into other States and destroyed trees worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was accomplished at a total cost to the State and the National Forest Service of only $292,000. Pretty big interest on the investment, wasn't it? Now note the thoroughly military manner with which the campaign against the common enemy was planned and carried out, some of it over the very soil on which the troops of Washington marched -- then tell me if it isn't as interesting a bit of "war history" as you ever read. First of all, the infested territory was mapped into divisions, with each in charge of a division foreman, who directed the work of several crews of six to eight men, each with a foreman. These crews scouted the territory for egg masses, inspecting every tree, fence-post, or telephone or telegraph pole with the keen eye of a woodpecker in search of his breakfast. Every egg mass was painted with creosote, which kills the eggs. Then the work of the scouting crews was checked by specially picked men, called trailers, who went over the territory for egg masses that had been overlooked. High-pressure motor-spraying machines sprayed a poison, arsenate of lead, to kill caterpillars hatched from the eggs in the tops of the tallest trees. Partly dead trees, with broken limbs, cavities, and loose bark, which afford hiding-places for the egg masses, were cut down. During the caterpillar season, in June, thousands of trees were banded with burlap and sticky material to trap the caterpillars. These trees were visited each day and the caterpillars killed. As in the case of other leaf-eating insects, the gypsy does all of its damage in the caterpillar stage, and such trees as the Apple, the various species of Oaks, Gray Birch, Alder, and Willow are favorite food plants, but when the caterpillars are plentiful nearly all kinds of trees are fed upon. For several years the Forestry Department of New Hampshire has been waging war on the White Pine blister rust. The State co-operates with town and individual Pine-owners, and, working over more than a million acres of land, has saved Pine worth many millions of dollars at a cost of only twenty cents per acre. I could tell you of a lot more of this kind of practical patriotism, but this is enough to show you how the work is done and to help you remember, in celebrating Washington's Birthday, that the "colonial wars" and the struggle for independence are not over yet. And if you want to know how you can help, you'll notice that in the corners of many gardens and fields -- possibly in your own -- rubbish is allowed to accumulate year after year. Well, these rubbish piles are hotbeds for many kinds of fungi, and are the cause of epidemics of tree disease which run through entire communities. |
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