134 I'.TTIDS. 



1)V Wilson llic licst trees without exception were those 

 that had received tVe(|iieiit attacks from the ^^'ood|)eckel•. 

 Many of the trees "were over sixty years ohl, their 

 trnnks co\cre<l with holes, whik^ the bi'anches wei-e 

 broa<l. luxuriant and loadecl with finit." "Of decayed 

 trees more than three-fonrths were nntonched liy the 

 A\'ood])eckers."' 



Prolialily the most nsefnl of oin' \'ermont s]>ecies is 

 that called the Downy \\'ood|»ecker ( l*iciis piilx^scens, 

 Liini.) a hiack and white hird, nsnally not oxer six inches 

 lonii. and another callc<| the Hairy \\'ood|)ec|<er ( /Vr//.s 

 rilliisiis, Jjiini.) which is vci'y similar in ajipearance, 

 thonuii lariici'. These hirds are (jnite common about or- 

 chards and should he encoui'aiicd to stay. Some of the 

 hii'irer s[)ecies, at certain seasons, eat some coimi and a lit- 

 tle iVuit 1»ut the amoimt they take is too small to he made 

 any account of. riii' Ivcd-headed \\'ood])ecker is more 

 destru( ti\c to IVuit than any of the othei's. It eats aj)- 

 pk's, pears and such fruit, always s(dectin_ir the ripest and 

 best and it is said, bedsides tliis, to (^at .some coi'ii, es])e- 

 cially when it is in the milk. .Notwithstandiuir all this 

 their pi'oper food is insects and there can be little (b)ubt 

 that they do far less to destroy, than to save fruit, for 

 what th<'\- eat is only a small pai-t of that they have 

 saved from (b'strnction b\- destrovinjj thousands of in- 

 .sects. 



Leaving" this not veiy laruc but veiw useful ^roup, let 

 us i>a>s on to the cousidei'ation of a very larufe and impor- 

 tant order that of the Insessores or Perehinir-Ijirds. 'i'he 

 species of this irrou[) are very numerous and the individ- 

 uals are munbered by thousands and a very lai\i»e mnuber 

 are of special interest to the agiiieultiirkst. In entering 

 upon this pai-t of our subject Ave are treadinof ujjon 

 ground, every inch of Avhich has heen hotly contested and 

 even noAv the discussion in regard to some species has by 

 no means ceased. 



Althouirh there is a i)rettv ireneral agreement amouir 



