Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Gypsy and brown-tailed moths, the plague of Massachusetts for the last twenty years, are reported in this section of Ohio. Entomologists say this is the farthest west the insects have traveled since they came to this country.

The explanation given of their migration is that the moths, attracted to the headlights of locomotives, have clung to the framework of engines and been carried westward by easy stages. Almost every tree in this city has been attacked by the moths, and caterpillar forms now hatched are threatening to defoliate the county.

The gypsy and brown-tailed moths were brought to this country by a Harvard professor. He kept a few specimens under a net in his backyard, but a storm blew away the netting and scattered the insects. Since then Massachusetts has spent several millions of dollars in fighting the pests.