96 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



aware of any being killed outright by 

 the operations. 



Not so, however, with the White 

 Birch, the Weeping and the Cut-Leaf 

 Birch. With this class of trees fatal 

 results have of late years become 

 quite common. In Cataraqui Ceme- 

 tery, Kingston, during the last three 

 years' time, Cut-Leaved and W^eeping 

 Birch have been killed by this wood 

 pecker. On ths fine smooth bark of 

 this class of trees he bores the holes 

 much closer together than on rough- 

 barked trees, and the circles of holes 

 are placed so much closer together 

 that the tree may be said to be com- 

 pletely barked in some places as 

 much as one foot lengthwise the 

 whole circumference of the tree. 

 Whatever of the bark is left on the 

 wounded spot soon dies, so that the 

 tree when not killed at once, only 

 lingers with a decaying existence for 

 a few years. 



When the boring is done in spring 

 as it most generally is, the evil effects 

 are much more apparent because the 

 sap flows profusely from every wound, 

 consequently some of the trees actu- 

 ally bleed to death. He also attacks 

 the Mountain Ash, Linden, Larch, 

 Butternut, Blackwalnut, Scotch and 

 Austrian pine and Norway spruce 

 in the same way, but seldom kills 

 any of the five sorts. 



One thing particularly noticeable 

 is that he hardly ever attacks a sickly 

 or decaying tree. His depredations 

 have lately become so prevalent in 

 this part of the country that he is now 

 considered the greatest pest that land- 

 scape gardenershave tocontend with. 



Some naturalists aver that he 

 bores in search of the larvte of in- 



sects which, if allowed to remain un- 

 molested, would ultimately destroy 

 the tree. I think this statement is 

 incorrect, for after having made very 

 close investigations, I have failed to 

 find any symptoms of insect life under 

 the inner bark of such trees as have 

 been attacked, and I am not aware 

 of an}^ of the trees mentioned ever 

 being injured by any kind of insects 

 which could have existed in a larvae 

 state where he so incessantly labors. 



If there may be any animal life 

 under the inner bark, it must be in 

 the form of animalculae, and I have 

 been forced to the conclusion that 

 he bores chiefly for the sap, which I 

 have no hesitation in saying he drinks 

 freely of. My belief in this theory 

 is strengthened by the fact that he is 

 often seen to keep his chisel-pointed 

 bill inserted for a time in some of the 

 newlj'-bored holes. I have no doubt 

 it is this habit which has brought on 

 him the opprobrious name of sap- 

 sucker, by which name he is now 

 known hereabout. 



It is said by some that he taps the 

 trees with a view of attracting insects, 

 and that when they become gorged 

 with sap they become an easy prey 

 for him. I am not prepared to dis- 

 pute this point, I am rather inclined 

 to believe there may be some truth 

 in the statement. 



At all events, whatever may be his 

 motives for boring so many holes, 

 the evil is immeasurably greater than 

 all the good he does. Therefore I 

 am obliged to adopt means of extir- 

 pating him, the best of which I have 

 found to be the shot-gun, using fine 

 shot so as not to injure the bark of 

 the tree. 



March nth, iS8g. 



