This summer I found similar beetles infesting the bark of a 

 young apple tree and sent some of them to Prof. H. A. Sur- 

 face for identification. 



Extracts from his reply are presented herewith. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

 DIVISION OF ZOOLOGY, 



Harrisburg, Pa., 

 July 8, 1911. 

 My Dear Mr. Jacobs: The insects which you sent us are the Fruit- 

 tree Bark Beetle. There is no good remedy for them. These are also 

 called Shothole Borers or Bark Borers or Bark Beetles. I enclose here- 

 with a circular concerning them. * * * * 



It is very interesting to know that you have found that numbers of 

 these Bark Beetles were fed to the young martins, apparently captured 

 by the older birds while in flight. This is an important point in behalf of 

 bird protection and especially martin colonization. The economic features 

 of these birds should be emphasized. * * * I congratulate you up- 



on your success in the distribution of your martin houses. This is doing 

 well and will grow. Faithfully yours, 



H. A. Surface, 

 Economic Zoologist. 



On our residence grounds stands three martin houses, 

 where in previous years, sometimes as many as eighty pairs 

 of martins have nested. The past summer over forty pairs 

 nested. The colony was established in 1896,— four pairs 

 nesting. With each succeeding year the colony increased 

 steadily until 1905, when more than half the two hundred 

 birds arriving were discouraged from nesting by continuous 

 cool, wet weather, and left the neighborhood, never to re- 

 turn. Since that date, my colony has never contained more 

 than fifty nests. A larger number of birds arrive at the 

 houses in early spring, but later, many of them go elsewhere 

 to breed, presumably to the numerous new houses put up for 

 them in the city or immediate vicinity. 



One of these houses stands in the center of the lawn be- 

 tween my residence and one of the buildings in which our 

 bird-house factory is conducted; one stands in the edge of 

 the garden some eighty feet south of this one, and directly 

 west of this is the third house, close the street and near the 

 outspreading branches of large ornamental maple trees, 

 which have not yet reached so near as to menace the house 

 as a favorite summer home for the martins. 



