ILLINOIS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 255 



moths, uspi-cially tin' pea wi'evil (In-uchus pisi). Juul', oiiroulio, long-suo'itjl weevil (rhviiciiicmis 

 uasicus), and pc-us. July, furciilios, weevils, iK'etk's, clieri-ies; August, weevils, chrysallds, grass- 

 hoppers, I'ruit. Seiitember, he has departed, and gone to his Soutlieru lionie. 



This bill of fare ouglit to satisfy every one that tlie bird is not tlie enemy but the friend of num. 

 Thcpreseiiee of tlie ius_>et is universal— in tlie ul)i(piity of its uuuibers, legion. To tliis universal 

 monster birtli r^'Siionds tlie bird, incessantly a.:tive with the swiftness of his wing. Tlie great 

 moment is that when the insect, develoiiing its'lf through the heat, meets the bird face to face. • 

 the l)ird multiplied in numbers— the bird whieh, having no other sustenamie, must feed at this very 

 moment a iiuiiierous progeny witli her living prey. Every year the vegetable world would be 

 endangered if the bird could suckle; if the aliment were the worli of an Individual, of a stomacli. 

 But see '. the noisy, restless brood, by six, ten, twenty bills, cry out, more ! more ! and the exigency 

 is so great, such the maternal ardor to respond to this deman?!, t!iat even the little titmouse will 

 carry three hundred caterpillars a day to satisfy the wants of its young; and even in the gloomy 

 months of winter, when the sleep of nature so closely resembles death, we have birds who are 

 actively engaged prying into the affairs of the ins^^ct world, often laying was e the prospects of a 

 promising family by one stroke of tlie bill, and liiiuting up insect life so diligently as to entitle them 

 to the honor of bsing the friends and co-laborers of man. 



To-day, from our window, as we write, we s:;e the active, cheerful chick-a-dee, engaged in this 

 warfare against the insect; and though it is tin; depth of winter, are carefully Inspecting every 

 liranch and sliout for the eggs of the tent caterpillar, and every cranny and loose piece of bark for 

 tlie pupic of the codling moth. 



AVc confess that we have noticed for many years, with painful feelings, the efforts of several 

 eminent men in our State to influence tlie minds of our State legislators to repeal existing laws 

 for the protection of birds; and some have even gone so far as to proscribe a number by name, and 

 demand their destruction. This is all a mistaken pre.iudice. We hold, with Ur. H. Shinier, " that 

 birds are Nature's scavengers, in the field, the garden, the orchard, everywhere; and that the man 

 who kills one for mere sport, or from blind prejudice, is a dangerous man in the community." 



We regret that so many practical horticulturists ignore ornithology, and think it unworthy of tlieir 

 attention and study; and do not know, or care to know, the injurious birds from those that are 

 beneficial. lu their ignorance they discover that some inj urious insect is destroying their crops, and 

 orders are immediately issued to shoot indiscriminately friend and foe. This ignorance ouglit not 

 to exist any longer: it is high time, even now in this enlightened nineteenth century, that everyone 

 engaged in tlie culture of fruit, and especially the intelligent members of this noble society, should 

 know tliat the woodpeckers, the robins, the nightjars, the fiycatchers, the titmouse, and wrens, the 

 swallows, the swifts, the shrikes, the vireos, the nuthatches, and the rest of tlie creepers, the blue- 

 bird, the meadow lark, the cedar bird, tlie sparrows and the orioles are not deserving of death, but 

 are the friends and co-laborers of the horticulturist. 



Di\ Hull asked if the gentleman was certain that the oriole caught and ate the plum 

 curciilio? 



Robson — Yes ; all the statements made in the paper wore facts ; had observed them 

 busily engaged among his plum trees, and on examination found they were catching 

 citrculios. 



Dr. Hull replied that at Alton they had fully investigated this matter, and they had 

 come to the conclusion that it was impossible for this bird to catch this insect on 

 account of its habits. At Alton they had been compelled to shoot this bird in order to 

 protect their fruit. He charged that this bird destroyed more of the cannibal insects, 

 which were our best friends, than of the vegetable eating insects. To keep down the 

 injurious insects we mui^t rely more upon the cannibal insects than upon the good 

 offices of the birds. 



Mr. Rolison stated that his remarks were intended to apply to Northern Illinois, and 

 they might or might not be applicable to Alton. That the oriole did and could catch 

 the curculio was a matter of fact. He did not claim that the curculio was caught on 

 the Iruit, but was caught after it fell to the ground. 



Mr. Harris, of Galena, took up the matter, arguing that, though pleased with the 

 bluejay and bi'own thrush, he could but consider them enemies. • 



Mr. Robson could defend the bluejay only because of its beautiful plumage. The 



