108 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



arouse a greater interest in nature study, than a pet chickadee. If 

 fed throughout the winter, these same chickadees will probably 

 remain and nest in the orchard. This is especially true, if suitable 

 nesting places are provided for them. 



In nature the chickadee nests in deserted holes of the downy 

 rotten limb or old fence post for himself. However it readily accept* 

 woodpecker and house wren, or occasionally digs a hole in some 

 bird boxes, old varnish cans, etc., if placed in suitable places in the 

 orchard. The best bird box which can be provided for the chickadee 

 is made by cutting a section six to twelve inches long from a rotten 

 limb and nailing a piece of old shingle or bark across the ends. A 

 hole about an inch in diameter should be bored in the side and the 

 '"box" fastened to a limb by a wire. If the hole in the side does not 

 exceed 1 or 1% inches in diameter and the house is so fastened 

 that it will swing just a little bit, the English sparrow will probably 

 let it alone. Otherwise the chickadee will have to look elsewhere. 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 



The English Sparrow undoubtedly deserves to head the list of 

 birds that do more harm than good; the points of evidence aganist 

 this bird being numerous and convincing. While the English Sparrow 

 is not pri'.narily an orchard bird, yet it often does considerable injury 

 to the orchards situated close to cities and towns. 



In the spring when the seeds and grains upon which the sparrov/ 

 commonly feeds become rather scarce, it frequently turns its attention 

 to the buds of various trees and small fruits. The greatest injury 

 being done to the following fruits, and usually in the order n-amed: 

 Peach, pear, grape, plum, cherry, apple and currant. Later in the 

 season the fruit is also more or less seriously injured, this being 

 especially true in the grape arbor. However, apples are sometimes 

 picked extensively, thus '•endering them worthless for the market. 

 Mr. F. M. Webster of the U. S. Department of Agriculture records the 

 fact that the sparrows practically ruined the apples in his own home 

 garden where he had several trees representing three different varieties. 

 He estimates that the sparrows ruined three-fourths of the crop. 



English Sparrows undoubtedly eat a few insects, and also feed 

 them to their young, but they also use a considerable amount of grain 

 for this purpose. The writer recalls an occasion upon which he 

 examined the contents of several stomachs of half-grown sparrows 

 taken from the nest, and found nothing but wheat, and that in con- 

 siderable quantity. 



An idea of the number of insects eaten by the adult birds may be 

 gained from the following figures taken from a report of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture on the English Sparrow. (Bulletin No. 

 1, U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. Economic Ornithology and Mammology. ) A 

 tabulation of the results obtained by the analysis of 2,4 5 5 stomachs 



