794 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



of two billion and a half. In 1890 the It will be seen from the foregoing 



loss had increased one billion dollars, that the birds are among man's greatest 



The year 1901 witnessed a loss of over benefactors. Laws have been made 



three millions of dollars in Massa- by both State and Federal Legislators 



chusetts alone. for their protection. This, however, is 



The insect, its eggs and young are not enough. The Forestry Depart- 



the natural food of many birds, and ment of the town of Brookline, Mass., 



the amount they and their young has recognized the place the birds fill 



consimie is astonishing. The young in the care of trees, shrubs, plants and 



eat as much in proportion to their size foliage of all kinds, and steps have 



as their parents do. A young robin been taken to protect, encourage and 



has been known to eat one-half its care for all that live within the town 



weight in meat a day in captivity, and limits. 



from fifty to seventy cut worms and Brookline has been as hard hit by 



earth worms a day. The stomachs of the work of the gipsys, brown-tail, 



two flickers that were examined were leopard moths and elm beetle as any 



found to contain 3,000 and 5,000 ants of her neighbors. In 1908 the town 



respectively. One night hawk had was the worst gipsy moth infested 



eaten 500 mosquitoes. A yellow billed district in New England. Today the 



cuckoo, eighty-two caterpillars, another gipsys are well under control and due 



eighty-six caterpillars. Two scarlet recognition of the work of the birds is 



tanagers ate thirty-five gipsy moths made. The task of destroying the 



per minute for 18 minutes. It is winged pests has been carried on in 



estimated that 21,000 tons of insects several ways. The department was 



are eaten each season in Massachusetts, thoroughly re-organized and equipped. 



Birds are able to consume large It built its own spraying machines 

 quantities because their digestive organs which are the largest of their kind in 

 are particularly large and powerful, the United States. Where once the 

 After the stomach is full the gullet can apparatus then in use took the entire 

 be filled and anything not readily season to spray the trees on a street 

 digested ejected from the mouth. Their like Beacon Street, the work now can 

 strong bills crush the shells of the be done in 2 hours. Besides this treat- 

 harder insects and as the process of ment the men of the department cut 

 digestion is rapid, and their appetite out all dead limbs, examine and prune 

 insatiable, it is not surprising that they the trees where needful. Electric and 

 consume almost incredible numbers of telephone wires and horses are not 

 the leaf eaters. At all seasons, day allowed to mar this tree property of 

 and night, the birds are searching the the town any more than its fine public 

 trunks, branches and twigs of the trees buildings. 



for eggs, larvae and the insects them- When the foresters go through the 

 selves. Under the trees, on the ground town removing dead limbs and trees 

 among the leaves and in the grass, they take away the natural resting 

 towhees, sparrows and thrushes search places of many of the most useful birds, 

 for the pests. In holes in the trunk such as the flickers, woodpeckers, chica- 

 and bark the woodpeckers, nuthatches ^^^^ ^^^ nuthatches. Proper resting 

 creepers and flickers hunt and drill ^^^^^s then had to be furnished to keep 

 Along the limbs and out on the twigs ^^®, ^^'l^l ^^^^^ ^^^ ^o^^- ^^^ accord- 

 kinglets and chicadees explore eagerlv ^f^y ^^O nestmg boxes were placed in 

 Warblers and vireos search the tre^s '^^^^^^^ locations for them Each box 



from top to bottom, and flvcatchers Tr ^^T?^^^^^. °^ ^^^ bottom so that 



J . r ^ ,1 • i ^ a.Lv,iieis ^^ could be easilv seen from below, and 



dart from their perches to seize the its nuiTiber recorded on a map in the 



insects m the air All these work from office of the Forestry Department, 



dawn until dark and at night-fall. Records were thus kept of the number of 



when the swallows have left the upper homes occupied and the species using 



air, the night-hawks and whip-poor- them. The results have been satis- 



wills carry on the relentless pursuit. factory. 



