420 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



From few correspondents in the Eastern portion of this State we 

 have received increasing complaints of attacks on fruits' by Robins. 

 These are due partly to the increase in the number of Robins, but 

 more to the decrease of the native fruits upon which the Robins 

 previously fed. This can be prevented by the following moans: 



I. Temporary. — (a) Placing stuffed birds in fruit trees at the season 

 when the fruit is becoming ripe and Robins and other birds are 

 liable to take it. Prof. Buckhout, the Botanist of this Board, re- 

 ports to us a successful experiment in thus protecting his trees by 

 placing in them a stuffed Owl and a stuffed Crow last spring, 

 (b) Placing in the trees a cat in a large lattice box or cage. It is 

 probable that this would be even better than the stuffed bird, and as 

 a suitable box could be made of lath, the house cat could be used 

 for this purpose and thus save both the fruit and the birds, (c) Shoot- 

 ing among the birds with blank cartridges, (d) Killing them while 

 engaged in destroying fruit. (This is to be used only as a last 

 resort.) 



II. Permanent Means. — Plant such fruit-producing native plants, 

 bushes and shrubs as the birds prefer. Among these may be wild 

 cherries, blackberries, raspberries, and especially the service or 

 shadberry, also known as June berry and Corinthian Cherry, and 

 Mulberries. The Governor Wood Cherry and sweet varieties of 

 strawberries may be permitted to become dead ripe and the birds 

 will prefer these to others of more choice varieties. 



There have been some reports of attacks upon English walnut by 

 English sparrows, Robins, and Blackbirds. Mr. Gabriel Hiester, of 

 Harrisburg, has had many bushels of English walnuts destroyed 

 while yet young and soft on the trees by Blackbirds sticking their 

 bills into them, and appearing to use their juice as an insecticide. 



The English Sparrows have continued to commit depredations and 

 even found new fields to conquer. They have been known to attack 

 young English walnuts in Lancaster county; in several gardens they 

 have stripped the vines of green peas; they have been seen to eat 

 the buds from the twigs of pear trees in the early spring, and last 

 June we saw them kill all four of the young birds in the nest of a 

 Phoebe. They have rightly been charged with being the greatest 

 agency in the spread of the San Jose' Scale, while there are very few 

 reports or observations in their favor. Among these are such as 

 their feeding insects to their young and occasionally catching moths 

 for themselves in the grass. 



In some of the sparsely settled portions of the State, near forests, 

 the Ruffed Grouse, commonly known as the Pheasant, has been 

 known to inflict some injury upon apple trees by eating the buds 

 during winter and early spring. It is well known that the winter 

 food of these valued game birds consists chiefly of the buds of 

 trees, particularly the catkins or undeveloped blossoms of the birch, 

 alder and hazel. 



The English Starling, which was introduced a few years ago. in 

 the vicinity of New York, has found its way into our State and in 

 Centre county we have seen and collected a few of these birds in the 

 fall of the year. They are to be known by their close resemblance 

 to the Blackbird, but slightly smaller and streaked with brown, and 

 also by their peculiar short whistle and their habit of living singly or 

 in pairs in open fields and flying into trees or bushes when ap- 



