INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION. 439 



tion. Cold and severe winters destroy many insects in the 

 chrysalis state, particularly if there should happen to be but 

 little snow upon the ground. The formation of ice upon trees 

 serves to loosen and throw off their eggs, which are glued to the 

 branches. 



Nature likewise employs the different classes of the animal 

 kingdom in the destruction of noxious insects. Among the 

 mammiferous animals thus used, I would mention the fox, 

 skunk, bat and mole. It is, however, doubtful whether the ben- 

 efits to be derived from the insectivorous mammalia, or those 

 only partially so, counterbalance the mischief caused by them. 

 On the other hand, birds no doubt contriliute much to the 

 destruction of insects injurious to vegetation. And here we 

 would urge upon farmers the importance of affording accommo- 

 dation, and giving protection to the feathered tribes, and endeav- 

 oring, by all the means in their power, to increase their numbers. 

 Cultivators of the soil should never forget, that insectivorous 

 birds are their most efficient auxiliaries in accomplishing the 

 great work of ridding their fields and orchards of insects, and 

 that self-interest alone, to say nothing of humanity, should 

 prompt them to spare those beautiful forms from a cruel death. 



Cultivators of gardens, likewise, should endeavor to protect 

 the birds from feline rapacity. For there is no object in our 

 grounds so annoying, and upon whose murderous designs our 

 small birds look with so much anxiety, for the safety of them- 

 selves and their young, as the stealthy motions of a vagrant cat. 

 These expert bird-catchers should at once be destroyed. 



Reptiles, to a considerable extent, are advantageous in the 

 destruction of insects. The Coluber genus of serpents, some of 

 which are found on the farms of Essex county, are beneficial in 

 this way, and are perfectly harmless. But innocent, useful and 

 beautiful as they are, both in form and color, they are viewed 

 by too many persons with abhorrence, and every occasion is 

 sought to destroy them. In this connection, I would observe, 

 that in our county we need not fear the bite of but one serpent, 

 the Crotalvs durissus, or banded rattlesnake, and that its habitat 

 is limited to barren and peculiar geological formations, viz. : 

 boulders resting upon ledges of granite or sienite. The other 

 reptile I would notice as being useful to the farmer and horti- 

 culturist, is the common toad ; and I am pleased to learn, that 



