232 



NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIEl'Y. 



if not always, raise two broods a year, and each brood numbers 

 from four to six young." 



"The vegetable portion of the food is unimportant, and con- 

 sists mainly of a few seeds, with small fruits, such as wild 

 cherries, elder berries, and juniper berries. The raspberries 

 and blackberries found in the stomachs were the only fruits 

 that might have belonged to cultivated varieties and the quan- 

 tity was trifling." 



"There is hardly a more useful species than the phoebe about 

 the farm, and it should receive every encouragement." 



THE SMALL FLYCATCHERS. 



{EmpMonax spp.) 



During the first half of May and again the first half of Sep- 

 tember there pass through eastern Nebraska on their migrations 

 at least four species of small flycatchers belonging to the genus 

 Emjjklwiax, all very similar in coloration and very difficult to 

 distinguish. One of these, the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, is 

 rare; the other three, the Acadian, Traill and Lesst Flycatchers 

 are all common, and, while their food habits have never been 



ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. 



given detailed attention, it is certainly known that they are all 

 quite beneficial. All of the common species frequent the or- 

 chard fully as much as the woods, and consequently their good 

 work directly affects the horticulturist. Beetles, crane-flies, 

 gnats, mosquitoes, and grasshoppers are all eagerly eaten, 

 while various sorts of larvae and berries vary the diet. 



