180 HALF HOURS WITH INSECTS. [Packard. 



for entire days, as fast as they could bring tliem, with the 

 moth of the cut-worm. That is about as much as we could 

 expect any bird to do at one time. At the rate they went, 

 they must have caught and given their young ones about 

 five hundred of these moths in a da}'. Before that, I had 

 supposed that the robin did me more harm than good, but I 

 had to give in. My indebtedness to that pair was worth all 

 the cherries I could raise in many years. So the robin and 

 I are fast friends.'" 



From the facts already presented, it may be inferred how 

 useful birds may become in the work of reducing the num- 

 ber of injurious insects. Undoubtedly we have suffered 

 greatly by our wanton killing of the smaller birds. We 

 are far behind European nations in caring for the insect- 

 eating kinds, and providing nests for them about our houses 

 and gardens. The Swiss and French have been the most 

 far-sighted in this matter of the protection of the smaller 

 insectivorous species. The English, Scandinavians and 

 Germans foster them, while in our country, teeming as it is 

 with hosts of ravaging insects, the smaller birds are hunted 

 and persecuted, or if let alone, there is no effort made on 

 any extended scale to invi.te them to our houses and gardens. 



The Apple Sphinx. — This modest gray hawk moth, rather 

 smaller than the generality of the species, appears in June 

 and lays scattered eggs on the leaves, from Avhich the cater- 

 pillars hatch. They are large, pea-green worms, with seven 

 oblique violet stripes along each side, and a horn on the 

 end of the body. It is the Sphinx gorcllus. The larva of 

 another hawk moth, with a rough granular skin, a bluish 

 horn and seven yellowish white streaks on the side, is also 

 found on the apple. The moth is fawn colored, with the 

 wings notched, the hinder pair bearing a large black eye- 

 spot centred with blue. It is the Smeriyithus exccucatus. 



The Swalloiv Tail Butterfly. — The caterpillar of Pcqnlio 

 Turnus is occasionally found on the leaves of the apple. It 



20 



