ENEMIES OF CONIFEROUS TREES 279 



when they congregate in huge flocks at roosting 

 time and foul the ground with their droppings. 

 In several cases the coniferous trees in the planta- 

 tion where these birds roost have either been 

 killed outright or rendered unhealthy by their 

 presence, especially when the birds remained for 

 a lengthened period in the same locality. Two 

 instances have of late come under my notice in 

 which quite a number of average-sized trees and 

 their underwood have been killed by the too 

 pressing attention of this otherwise valuable bird. 

 Though in certain cases the trees may not have 

 been killed, yet many of the branches have died 

 off, and the whole frequented part of the wood- 

 land wears a decidedly unhealthy appearance. 

 Frightening the starlings by shooting, or lighting 

 some of the material used for smoking out rabbits 

 beneath the trees on which they roost, are the 

 only remedies. 



The heron does almost similar damage to trees, 

 and in a heronry in the north of Ireland, as also 

 in Epping Forest, coniferous and other trees have 

 suffered greatly, and in some instances been killed 

 outright, by the fouling of these birds. 



Squirrels commit damage by eating the buds 

 of coniferous trees, while young larch and other 

 plantations suffer much in the way of bark- 

 peeling and gnawing of the tender wood. The 

 Larch and Scotch Pine are most frequently 

 attacked, and whole plantations in Ireland and 

 Scotland have at times suffered severely from 

 repeated onslaughts of this animal. Not only is 

 the bark peeled off, but in the case of young 

 larch plantations the top shoots at a distance of 



