OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 2OI 



Its quarrels with others, frequently result from 

 their pre-occupancy of accustomed sites. 



The great good which the Martins accomplish 

 should commend them to our favor and esteem, 

 and should be an inducement for us to extend to 

 them our warmest sympathies and fullest protec- 

 tion. The beetles that injure our fruits; the 

 aphides that sap the strength of our useful as well 

 as ornamental plants; the various dipterous in- 

 sects as Muse a domes tic a, Tab anus lincola, Muse a 

 casar, and the Ortalis and its allies whose larvae 

 infest our raspberries and other fruits, and pro- 

 duce the galls of many of our commonest plants. 



Like the Cliff and Bank Swallows, this species 

 is fond of society. Where several apartments 

 exist in a house, as many pairs take up their 

 quarters; often six pairs have been known to 

 occupy the same dwelling. The most perfect 

 order and harmony prevail among the tenants ; 

 but woe to the feathered stranger that approaches : 

 for the combined strength of the male portion of 

 the entire community is summoned, to wreak 

 instant vengeance upon him. 



The males are strongly attached to their part- 

 ners; and faithful and ever attentive to their 

 wants. We are disposed to believe that the 

 species arrives already paired, as we have never 

 observed the least indication of anything that 

 would lead to a different belief. When, a male 

 has once selected a partner, we know no instance 

 where she has been abandoned, while living, for 



