TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING. 129 



of acres of sloughs and bottoms adjacent, in which the blackbirds nested 

 by millions. As the acreage of corn increased, the breeding grounds of 

 the blackbirds decreased more or less, and as more and more ground was 

 planted the attacks of the birds were distributed over more and more 

 territory, until now the tax levied by them is so light that it is rarely felt 

 at all. 



A single catbird once destroyed my entire cherry crop! True, I had but 

 one tree, and the tree but one cherry; still, he took all I had. 



Were you now to plant the only acre of red raspberries in an entire 

 county, where there were few wild fruits, the birds would certainly get 

 more than you ; but where raspberries are raised on hundreds of acres, and 

 where the berries grow wild as well, very little loss occurs. Unquestion- 

 ably, the abundance of wild fruits is often of great service to the horticul- 

 turist, and were it possible to grow in hedges or otherwise some small but 

 attractive fruit which would ripen as early as our earliest cherries, no 

 doubt such a counter attraction would be the most economical method of 

 proterting our more valuable fruits. It is noticeable that, although there 

 are scores of species of woodland birds which eat wild fruits in their sea- 

 son, very few of these birds ever attack cultivated fruits, while the birds 

 which cause us most trouble are those semi-domesticated species, like the 

 robin and catbird, which are most abundant about our homes, and which, 

 up to a certain point, always increase as a region becomes more thickly 

 settled. 



Let us take up in order the principal fruit-thieves already mentioned, 

 and give a little attention to each. 



It may be fairly said, with regard to the robin, that, all things consid- 

 ered, it is the species which does most harm to the horticulturist; and fur- 

 thermore, I am honestly doubtful whether the good which it does in the 

 course of the season is sufficient to overbalance, or even to equal the harm. 

 But, granting for the sake of argument, that this is true, that the good 

 done equals or exceeds the harm, it is still diflQcult or impossible to prove 

 that the good done to any one fruitgrower is sufficient to offset his loss in 

 fruit. Birds have an unfortunate habit of going to one place for their 

 fruit and another for their cut-worms; and if these two places are owned 

 by different parties, it is difficult to adjust the loss and compensation so 

 that all parties, including the birds, shall be satisfied. Both the good and 

 harm done by robins have been much exaggerated, yet there can be no 

 doubt that a fruitgrower should have the right to protect his fruits from 

 birds, even if it should become necessary to sacrifice some of the birds. 

 The various methods by which partial or complete protection can be 

 secured with 1he minimum of expense and sacrifice of bird life, will be dis- 

 cussed at another place. We may perhaps sum up the robin's case briefly 

 in this wise: He eats many injurious insects, many insects of no partic- 

 ular account one way or the other (as well as snails and earthworms), and 

 some decidedly beneficial insects; he destroys much fruit; he has a loud, 

 rather commonplace song, which is valued highly by some and considered 

 worthless by others. 



The cedar-bird, cherry-bird, or cedar-waxwing, is a typical fruit-eater, 



and probably known to the average farmer or fruitgrower only in that 



capacily; and the capacity of one of those birds for cherries is simply 



amazing. They come almost invariably in flocks, and ordinarily are not 



17 



