FEEDING THE WILD BIRDS 



&7 



MR. BAYNES WITH A CHICKADEE FRIEND. 



prevent a squirrel from detaching the 

 suet by cutting one of the cords with 

 his teeth. When the loose ends are cut 

 oft the feeding station is complete. 



"The simplest way to feed the seed- 

 eating birds is to scatter the foo 1 on the 

 ground. It should not be thrown on 

 soft, deep snow. Seed and most other 

 foods quickly sink into soft snow, and, 

 besides, most birds do not like to 

 flounder about in the snow-drifts in 

 search of food. The snow may be 

 swept or shoveled away, but personally 

 I much prefer to trample it down. It 

 is not easy, even with a snow-shovel, to 

 clear thoroughly a generous space 

 where there are weeds or long grass. 

 Cleared spaces are apt to become wet 

 or muddy and are usually unsightly. 

 The trampling process is quicker, much 

 quicker, if we have snow-shoes ; it 

 makes no unsightly patches, and, more- 

 over, the well-trodden snow forms a 

 pleasing background against which to 

 see our feathered guests." 



Our readers will look forward with 

 pleasant anticipation to the publication 

 of his book which will show many 

 photographs that will increase our 

 interest. 



Beware of Inoculating Trees. 



The State Zoologist of Pennsylvania 

 has issued a public warning against 

 the careless or unskillful use of the 

 new potassium cyanide method of pro- 

 tecting trees from insects, and of other 

 similar methods of "vaccination" with 

 potassium chlorate, iron sulphate and 

 other chemicals. No doubt there is a 

 valuable idea in this new device, but it 

 has still to be worked out in details, 

 and the tree owner will do well to ex- 

 periment, for the present, with only 

 such trees as he is prepared to lose if 

 he makes a mistake. 



The State Zoologist especially warns 

 the public to be on its guard against 

 persons who propose to apply the new 

 methods commercially. Many persons 

 have already lost whole groves of valu- 

 able trees from ignorant overdosing 

 with powerful remedies. 



Further information in printed form, 

 may be had by applying to H. A. Sur- 

 face, D. Sc, Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 



The above from a contributor was 

 referred to The Frost & Bartlett Com- 

 pany of Stamford, Connecticut. That 

 company replies as follows: 



"I read with interest your notes rela- 

 tive to the new potassium cyanide 

 method of protecting trees from insects 

 and other similiar methods of "vaccina- 

 tion." Such methods to date have al- 

 ways proved to be invariably "fakes." 

 There seems to be but little doubt 

 that in time we will find a method of 

 inoculating trees the same as in the 

 animal world, but all of these chemicals 

 have been tried in the past and have 

 proved to be of no value, in many cases 

 injurious, in fact, so much so that we 

 find trees have been actually killed by 

 their use. Tree owners should cer- 

 tainly be warned against the use of any 

 such methods and the practice should 

 be condemned on the face of the propo- 

 sition." 



A Trophv Winner. 



Spratt's Trophy for the best dog in 

 the 191 5 Westminster Kennel Club 

 Show was won by George W. Quin- 

 tard's Matford Vic. Mr. Quintar'd has 

 also won a leg on Spratt's Brace Spe- 

 cial with Wire Boy of Paighton and 

 Matford Vic. 



