126 “ANNUAL REPORT, = 2 
the somewhat sensitive, and most assuredly interested agriculturist 
the inexorable necessities of civilization. With the occupation, 
cultivation of the soil, there spring up as if by magic, myriads of 
entomological forms, many of which are inimical to agriculture, or 
to our comfort. We look to the birds for relief, and thank heaven 
for the wisdom which provides thus beautifully, and bountifully, for 
the preservation of those balances in organic life, so interwoven into 
the welfare of our race. The Raptores, or rapacious birds, have 
. multiplied with the vermin and reptiles so obnoxious to our grains 
and our sensibilities, and if, perchance, our poultry has been levied 
upon by a hawk by day, or an owl by night, for a meal that the or- 
dinary chase had failed to supply him, we are paying very cheaply 
for the benefits of their ordinary service, and the choice of those regal 
birds that soar over us, instead of the loathsome reptiles which creep 
at our feet. But, when we learn of the growing numbers of the 
insectivorous songsters, many of whom by their resplendant plu- 
mage, have been called ‘ the butterflies of the vertebrate creation,” 
we recognize a beneficence of design in their distribution, that exalts 
_ those attributes of the Creator which ally him so closely to our inner 
and higher being. ‘Twenty-five years ago the Baltimore Oriole with 
its body of gold and wings of jet—the Tanager with its body of fire 
and wings of night. were solitary wanderers in this land of the Da- 
cotahs, only represented by a few as the avant couriers of a coming 
civilization. Now, in the voluptuous spring, they are seen every- 
where flashing in the sunlight through our forests and our shrubbery 
the winged flora of the glorious season. And so long ago only, the 
voluble and mellifluous song of the Brown Thrush and the Robin, 
and Bluebird, and the gushing, fussy little House Wren were scarcely 
heard, and in only a few favored localities. Now those delicious 
notes are borne vpon the fragrance of spring into every open Case- 
ment, and they herald the teeming summer from every treetop. The 
grand chorus of feathered songsters has become an annual repast for e 
our willing and waiting ears which makes the long dreary winter 
bearable with its delicious anticipations. 
LIST OF TREES, SHRUBS AND FLOWERS. 
The time was so much occupied in discussing the apple question 
that nothing could be said on the list of trees, shrubs, and flowers. ~ 
The former lists were adopted with a few additions. 
SHADE TREES FOR STREETS AND LAWNS. 
White Elm, Basswood or Linden, White Ash, Box Elder or Ash 
Leaf Maple, Soft Maple, Rock Maple, Butternut, Black Walnut and 
Hackberry. 
