284 USEFUL BIRDS. 



The destruction of .small fruits by Robins usually bears 

 hardest on small growers, or on families who raise only a 

 little fruit for their own use. Large strawberry growers have 

 told me that the birds do them no noticeable harm, nor have 

 I known of any very serious and widespread destruction of 

 cultivated fruit by Robins in this State. Much harm is said 

 to have been done by them in other States, however, notal)ly 

 in Xew Jersey and California. 



Notwithstanding the fact that the Robin is sometimes in- 

 jurious to the interests of the small-fruit grower, it is one 

 of the most useful of all birds to the farmer and orchardist, 

 being probably as indispensable to the farm as any bird that 

 could ])e named. The problem that must be solved by the 

 fruit grower is how to prevent the Robin from destroying 

 small fruits, for the farmer and orchardist are interested in 

 seeinff the numbers of this bird increased rather than dimin- 

 ished. The value of the bird to the farmer consists in the 

 following facts. It remains in Massachusetts a large part 

 of the year, and during the spring and early summer it lives 

 almost entirely on insects and worms, while insects form a 

 considerable portion of its food for the rest of the season. It 

 forages on fields, lawns, and cultivated grounds for many of 

 the insects that the farmer finds most difiicult to control. It 

 also destroys many caterpillars, including hairy species, of 

 orchard, woodland, and shade trees. 



Professors Jenks in Massachusetts, King in Wisconsin, 

 Forbes in Illinois, and Beal at Washington, and Mr. Wilcox 

 in Ohio, have each studied the food of this bird. All these 

 gentlemen regard the Robin as beneficial except ]\[r. Wilcox, 

 who, while giving it due credit for a certain amount of the 

 STOod that it does, believes that the small-fruit i2:rower should 

 be allowed to protect his crops by killing Robins where it 

 seems necessary. It should l)e noted, however, that a large 

 proportion of the Robins that Mr. Wilcox examined were 

 shot about the fruit garden on the experiment station 

 grounds when the fruit was ripe ; and their food for the 

 time being would not fairly represent the average aliment 

 of the Robin, any more than would the food of the Robins 

 shot about Mr. Trouvelot's insectary correctly represent the 



