13() UIIJDS. 



thousjuuls of e<>«>s left duiMn<>' tlio simnncr hv llic cMiikci-- 

 worm, appU'-w'oriii and hosts of siniilai' pcsls art' llnis 

 |H('V('iited from doinii" harm, nor docs it cease its lahors 

 in snnuner w hen the eiiiis of insects arc not so ph'iit y luit 

 it still Avaiics nnccasinii" Marfare against the enemies of 

 the farmer. ]\Ir. Samnels in his cxcccdinuly vahiahh' 

 work on the "Birds of New l'>ni;land"' states that it has 

 l)cen calcnialcd tliat a siniilc pair of" these Chicach-cs de- 

 stroy five hnn(h-ed urn'^ :i'i(l caterpillars daily. 



Prol)al>ly no l)ird has heen the snKjcct of more dispnte 

 ov the oltjcct of as many false o|)inions as oin' common 

 Robin, and yet no hird is moi'c familiarly known and 

 none, sliould he liettei" imderstood. It is not xcry won- 

 ih'rfnl that when one sees his pet chcny-trcc as it is 

 Jnst ripcnini:" it> frnit, \isilcd iVoni morninL;' till cvc- 

 ninii" hy Ininuiy l\ol)ins. he shonid set down the hii'ds 

 as tit only for powder and it is imdonhtcdiy tiyinu' to 

 ones fceliniis to ha\(' the strawberry hcil plundered and 

 the rasplicriies and ai'api-s, the ripening' of which has 

 been tenderly watched, nussinn', when the expectant 

 owner aoes to gather them. Wi- are all very sensitive 

 when anythinii' atfects onr palates or our pockets. Af- 

 ter all this allowance I yet hoi)e to show tiiat the Ivob- 

 in is a most beneficial and nscfnl bird. The cherrii'S 

 and strawberries show us only one Nciy small side of 

 the (piestion. 



Lot us consider u few facts which show what the l{o])in 

 ivally is and what he does ; some of these are from my 

 own observation but most from varions other sources. 

 A Mr. Tronvehjt livin^ii' in Medford, Mass., has been 

 experimentinii' for several years upon S(mie of the Amer- 

 ican silk worms, especially upon one s})ecies. Frtr the 

 })roper treatment of the worms and moths he has a lariie 

 tract of land enclosed and covered with netting beneath 

 which the Avorms feed. ]Mr. Trcnivelot states that the 

 varions birds ot the reiiion destroved about idntv-tive 

 per c(mt of these worms and that the Kobins and Cut- 



