68 OUR BIRD ALLIES. 
the robin is undoubtedly entitled to encouragement 
and protection as the friend of man. Throughout 
the year it devotes its energies to the slaughter of 
the various creatures whose powers of mischief are 
so disproportioned to their size, and its success in 
the search for victims may be inferred from the ex- 
periment, now a matter of history, which proved that 
the bird, in order to maintain its health and weight, 
requires no less than fourteen feet of ordinary earth- 
worm in the course of the twenty-four hours, or an 
equivalent in other food. 
Quoting again from Prevost Paradol, we find the 
food of the robin given as follows :— 
‘‘ January, insects, worms, andchrysalids ; February, 
insects, worms, and woodlice; March, chrysalids and 
worms; April, moths, eggs of insects, and cock- 
chafers ; May, grubs and beetles ; June, flies, moths, 
spiders, and worms; July, moths, butterflies, and 
woodlice ; August, the same, and worms; September, 
the same; October, eggs of insects, and aquatic 
insects ; November, worms and chrysalids; December, 
chrysalids, grubs, and eggs of moths.” 
Every votary of horticulture must have noticed 
the extreme diligence with which the bird carries on 
its search for food, for it is about soon after sunrise, 
and continues its quest long after most of the feathered 
race have retired to rest. When digging over the 
ground, the gardener is almost sure to be attended 
by at least one pair of robins, which will approach 
within a few feet of him in order to obtain the worms 
and insects turned up by the spade. I have had a 
