18 



Bird Notes and News 



Economic Ornithology. 



A CURIOUS paragraph in the Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture for Julj'^ may probably 

 be taken as a back-handed apology for the 

 Board's blundering action with regard to 

 bird-life. After commenting on the good 

 deeds of parasitic flies and fungi in destroy- 

 ing injurious insects, the paragraph proceeds 

 to say that " Birds are admittedly of great 

 value, but it is most improbable that the}^ 

 alone would control any of the more serious 

 insect pests of this country, and the same 

 statement would apply equally to any other 

 enemy, if the weather be excepted, . . . 

 The above remarks must not be taken as 

 disparaging the services of birds, which are 

 incalculable, but rather as a plea for more 

 balance in considering the subject. An ally 

 is not less valuable because we recognise and 

 allow for his shortcomings." 



This from a Department which has done 

 more to encourage bird destruction than 

 " any other enemy, if the weather be ex- 

 cepted," and addressed to a farming public 

 not notorious for failing to recognise the 

 shortcomings of birds in cornfield or fruit- 

 orchard, xasby cause a grim smile. It is, 

 however, a sign of the times that the Board 

 should at last acknowledge the services 

 of birds to be incalculable. When it also 

 realises that allowance for a friend's short- 

 comings need not involve shooting or 

 poisoning him, and that an ally is less 

 valuable when dead, nature-students will 

 gratefully feel that its education is pro- 

 gressing. 



BIRDS AND FOOD-CROPS. 



Dr. F. D. Welch writes to the Society 

 from Longfield, Kent : 



" I should like to confirm the views of " A.M." 

 from Sussex (as to horse ploughing and wireworm) 

 f ■oni my own experience of two fields between here 

 and Longfield village. Both of these were steam- 

 ploughed, and both, although nominally corn, are 

 mostly poppies and svich weeds. On the other 

 hand, a field between here and Fawkham Church, 

 which is ploughed by horse labour has a good crop 

 on it. As regards the caterpillar, we were overnui 

 with the " Woolly Bear," but got them under by 

 killing, and I believe a pair of Cuckoos assisted a 

 good deal. They are, as is well known, large 

 caterpillar eaters, and it is unfortunate that 

 collectors take their eggs so much. Although 

 we have not shot a single small bird on my land 



for these last three years, the apples have set 

 better last year and this than ever before, although 

 the much-abused Blue Tit and Great Tit have 

 been allowed to wander wherever they pleased. 

 The soft fruit has also been a larger crop, especially 

 gooseberries, although Greenfinches (sometimes 

 said to be so destructive) have been undisturbed. 

 You may remember my mentioning during the 

 winter a hen Bullfinch which was frequently near 

 and in a certain gooseberry bush. I said I would 

 let you know the result. Well, the bush grew a 

 good crop for its size ; but the most interesting 

 point was that it never got blight, whereas bushes 

 thirty or forty yards away got it badly. I propose 

 to remove the Bullfinch from my list of undesirable 

 birds. 



" As regards vegetables, we did well considering 

 the bad spring weather, but where they have a 

 Sparrow Club a friend planted beet-roote and 

 nothing came up. 



THE GOOSEBERRY CATERPILLAR. 



Ml-. W. McGuifog, well-known to horti- 

 culturists, writes in Gardening. July 13th, 

 1918: 



" Where gooseberry bushes are permanently 

 wired in with netting to protect the fruit from 

 birds it is only reasonable to expect that, when 

 caterpillars attack the foliage, birds cannot assist 

 in clearing them off. Where the bushes are exposed 

 and only covered with nets during the season of 

 ripe fruit there are certain birds which are of 

 great service in destroying the larvae of the saw-fly. 

 One of these is the mixch -maligned Sparrow, which 

 appears to be inordinately fond of the caterpillar, 

 and on one occasion I watched a gang of Chaffinches 

 busily engaged in destroying them. Some years 

 ago I was told by Mr. Gilbert Anderson, the veteran 

 gardener at Port Mary, in the Stewartry, and a 

 well-known natvu-alist, that the Cuckoo was un- 

 equalled for destrojang caterpillars upon gooseberry 

 bushes. As Cuckoos in their season are very 

 numerous in this district, a close but unobtrusive 

 watch was kept upon them. As a result, Mr. 

 Anderson's observations were confirmed- — ^the 

 Cuckoos feeding upon the larvae with avidity." 



WOODPECKERS AND COCOA. 



Complaint having been made by cocoa- 

 growers of Jamaica of damage done to the 

 trees by the Woodpecker, the Government 

 Entomologist, Mr. Archibald Ritchie, was 

 authorised to investigate the matter, and 

 his final report has just been issued by the 

 Jamaica Agricultural Society. Although 

 Jamaica is a well-wooded country, there is, 

 it is pointed out, only one Woodpecker, 

 Centurus radiolatus, and this does not 

 belong to the American Sapsuckcrs but to 

 species which, like the British Woodpeckers, 



