RELATION OF BIRDS TO HORTICULTURE 425 



sects broug-ht to the nest by means of a powerful field-gflass and 

 also watch the birds while searching for insects in the garden. The 

 numerous small and black insects consumed by the first brood of 

 wrens were mainly g-round-beetles and small bugs. None of them 

 can be said to be injurious, though some of the ground-beetles are 

 suspected of eating the pollen and immature seed of grasses. Of 

 course, the grasshoppers, crickets and green caterpillars are all in- 

 jurious insects; hence, the first brood of wrens was certainly much 

 more beneficial than injurious. The second brood, consumingnoth- 

 ing but caterpillars and the larvie of saw-flies, was decidedly bene- 

 ficial. My six rows of currants and gooseberries were badly infested 

 with the destructive saw-flies, and it became necessary early in the 

 season to spray with hellebore. Later, however, I noticed that the 

 wrens were very active among the bushes, and, carefully watching 

 their actions, I soon discovered that they were searching for the 

 larvtE of the saw-flies that had hatched since the application of the 

 hellebore. Their good work was shown by the fact that all the 

 larvse were carried off as soon as they hatched from the egg and be- 

 came large enough to be seen. 



In finishing this report I would draw the attention of the horti- 

 cultural society to the usefulness of these birds and to the fact that 

 large numbers of them can be attracted to the gardens, where they 

 will prove of great benefit. Bird houses, as the one described, can 

 be easily made and with proper care will last for many years. They 

 can also be made much more ornamental, but should always be 

 small and should be separately suspended on trees and houses, as 

 the inhabitants are very pugnacious. 



Mushrooms and Beefsteak.— A Few years ago, a passenger on 

 a temporarily delayed train just outside of Chicago, got off his car 

 and found thousands of edible mushrooms. In sight were the great 

 Armour slaughter houses, from which the beef supply of the country 

 mainly comes, and yet the mushrooms, equal in nutritive value 

 pound for pound with beef, were going to waste because people did 

 not know their value. Mushrooms are easily grown, but most people 

 are afraid to use them, because some varieties are poisonous. These 

 are easily distinguished from the edible varieties, and the differences 

 are so great that in Europe, where they are highly valued as an 

 article of food, children gather them without danger of getting the 

 poisonous sorts. The edible mushrooms are found growing wild 

 in many portions of the northwest, and those who are fond of them 

 will be interested in Farmers' Bulletin No 53, which fully describes 

 them. It maybe had by addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. — Northwestern Farmer. 



Plant Mulberries for Birds.— Since mulberries have begun to 

 ripen, the trees have been visited by all sorts of birds, which select 

 this fruit in preference to cherries. Orchardists ought to plant 

 mulberry trees to encourage the visits of the birds, which thus serve 

 as a protection to cherries, raspberries, peas, etc. The trees are 

 easily propagated, the fruit ripens early and in large quantities. 



