110 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



of hot water and boil until dissolved. Moisten 1 1-2 teaspoonfuls of 

 starch with a few drops of cold water, add it to the poison solution, 

 and heat till the starch thickens. Pour the hot poisoned starch 

 solution over one quart of wheat, and stir until every kernel is coaied 

 and after the moisture has all been taken up by the wheat, spread it 

 out and let it dry thoroughly. It can then Be placed in a mason jar 

 and kept indefinitely. 



THE MOURNING DOVE. 



The Mourning dove is an abundant breeder and summer resi- 

 dent of the orchard. While in no sense an insect destroyer, yet it 

 is an unusually valuable bird, and unfortunately one that is little 

 understood or appreciated. Careful analysis of the stomach contents 

 from a large number of birds shows that' 9 9 per cent of the food con- 

 sists of seeds, and 64 per cent of these are seeds of noxious weed.-?. 

 The enormous number of weed seeds consumed, is well illustrated by 

 the following figures taken from data obtained by the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Of three stomachs examined, the first contained 

 7.500 seeds of the yellow Wood-sorrel, and the second 5,400 seeds 

 of the Fox-tail grass, and the third 9,200 seeds of noxious weeds 

 representing seven different species in large numbers. At this rate 

 a pair of Mourning Doves on the farm would, in a season, do work 

 nearly equivalent to that of some hired men in destroying weeds. 



The destruction of weeds in the orchard is considered one of 

 the best cultural methods for fighting several destructive fruit pesta. 

 Both the Buffalo Tree hopper, which injures apple twigs by depositing 

 eggs in them, and the Snowy Tree-cricket, which kills the canes of 

 raspberries and other small fruits in the same way, are largely con-' 

 trolled by keeping the weeds down in the orchards and berry patches. 

 The plum circulio which injures both plums and apples is also 

 affected adversely by clean cultivation and bare ground in the 

 orchard; the larvae being destroyed by the hot sun and exposure when 

 seeking places for pupation after leaving the fruit. Since, then, 

 the Mourning Dove has few, if any equals, as a weed destroyer in the 

 orchard, and on the farm, it is an unfortunate mistake to consider it 

 as a useless and even harmful bird, and to slaughter it in large num- 

 bers as a "game bird" as is so commonly done at the present time. 



The Chairman: The next paper will be by Dr. Chas. E. Bessey, 

 Uni. of Nebraska, on the subject: 



"HOW I BEAT DANDELIONS AND CRAB GRASS ON MY LAWN." 



Dr. Chas. E. Bessey, University c£ Nebraska. 



For many years I had been troubled with dandelions on my lawu 

 as had everybody else in Lincoln. I had hired boys again and again 

 and paid out a good deal of money in having them dig out the pests. 



