460 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Dr. Frisselle: What is the language of the Islands? 

 Mr. Major: French and English. 

 Mr. Elliot: What is land worth? 

 Mr. Major: About *2,000 an acre. 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



J , S. HARRIS, LA CRESCENT. 

 (Report made to last annual meeting.) 



Owing- to my very numerous duties and my greater interest in the 

 study of our fruits, I have not for a few years past given inuch time 

 to the observation and study of our birds. But I have noticed that 

 with a few exceptions in a few species in southern Minnesota, dur- 

 ing- the last twenty years there has been a gradual but marked 

 decrease, not only of winter residents, but of the migratory species 

 that stop with us a short time in their annual flights between the 

 south and the north, and also of those that remain and breed and 

 rear their yoi:ng with us during the summer months. The exact 

 cause of this decrease, I will not attempt to name at this time, but I 

 do not believe that because our beautiful wives and our daughters 

 have loved to adorn their head gear with plumage of wings and 

 feathers and, sometimes, whole birds, they should be required to 

 bear the whole responsibility in the case, for the reason that few, if 

 any of them, use the plumage of the hawk, owl or crow and many 

 other plain but useful birds in their adornments, and the decrease 

 in the numbers of such keeps pace with that of most of the others- 

 It cannot arise from a scarcity of insect food, for our entomologists 

 tell us that injurious insects at least are on the increase. The only 

 one of our winter residents that fully holds its own is the festive 

 blue jay. He is a somewhat noisy and quarrelsome fellow, robbing- 

 corn cribs in winter, and is accused of sucking the eggs of other 

 birds and tearing their young to pieces, but he feeds largely on 

 nuts, worms and insects, and his mischievous habits have made him 

 a public benefactor as a tree planter. 



The summer of 1895 with us was noted for the great scarcity of the 

 migratory species of birds, especially the summer residents. At 

 the appointed time a few robins, meadow larks, brown thrushes, 

 catbirds, etc., put in their appearance, but at no period was there 

 any considerable numbers of the old birds seen. As they were not 

 so numerous as to prove very destructive to small fruits, they were 

 allowed to breed and rear their young unmolested, and many of 

 them nested the second time, so that by autumn they were reasona- 

 bly numerous. But during that year not a single pair of blue birds 

 were seen or heard of in this section. The present year (1896) has 

 shown a very marked increase in the numbers of this class of birds. 

 Seemingly all of those that went south in the autumn were so well 

 pleased with their summer's sojourn here that they returned 

 promptly and brought others with them. The catbird and Baltimore 

 oriole were the most numerous, according to their numbers usually 



