Wildlife in the Small Woodland 



563 



other shrubs and trees that are adapted 

 to one's own locality, that can fill a 

 double or triple purpose in woodland 

 or, indeed, on any country place, and 

 that have fruits that are especially ap- 

 pealing to the particular birds a person 

 might want to attract. Among the sug- 

 gestions might be redcedar (Juniper us 

 virginiana) that is relished by more 

 than 50 species of birds, including the 

 bobwhite, pheasant, and the mourning 

 dove; the sumacs, whose berries attract 

 more than 100 birds and mammals; 

 the elderberry, food for more than 100 

 birds; and snowberry, eaten by 30 

 species of birds. 



Such shrubs need not be costly, espe- 

 cially if one buys them in small sizes. 

 They are not hard to plant and care 

 for. Or, another suggestion is that 

 neighbors exchange cuttings, slips, or 

 roots of shrubs. What better project 

 can neighbors or communities or or- 

 ganizations better in the enhance- 

 ment of friendship, beauty, and money 

 values carry out than one in which 

 groups of persons buy and exchange 

 shrubs for woodlands, roadsides, waste 

 places, parks? 



The precepts given here will assure 

 an abundance of wild creatures in the 

 small woodland. The woodland wild- 

 life has many values. It is interesting 

 and attractive. It provides sport in the 

 way of hunting. It yields a crop of fur- 

 bearer pelts that brings cash to the 

 landowner. Wild creatures provide a 



service that we often fail to appreciate 

 because it is not obvious they con- 

 tribute to the natural balance that 

 helps keep woodlands in condition. 



A few examples illustrate this im- 

 portant contribution by wildlife. In 

 northeastern forests, small mammals 

 occur in remarkably large numbers. 

 Studies by W. J. Hamilton, Jr., and 

 David B. Cook show that these animals 

 number about 100 to the acre. They 

 eat an astonishing number of insects. 

 Forest rodents mice, chipmunks, and 

 flying squirrels have a diet that is 20 

 percent insects, even though they are 

 considered to be primarily plant 

 feeders. The food of the woodland 

 shrews and moles runs from 50 to 75 

 percent insects. The insect-destroying 

 value of such woodland mammals is 

 high also because they are voracious 

 creatures, many of them eating each 

 day enough food to equal nearly one- 

 third of their weight. Unlike most 

 birds, they are resident creatures and 

 are more or less active throughout the 

 year. 



In the Western States, the pandora 

 moth attacks Jeffrey and ponderosa 

 pines, and under some conditions it 

 injures lodgepole pine. A large-scale 

 attack was made upon lodgepole pine 

 in 1937 in north-central Colorado. 

 How much more severe the damage 

 from the infestation might have been 

 if wildlife had been absent is indicated 

 by an investigation of the situation by 

 N. D. Wygant. He found that "squir- 

 rels and bears were destroying many of 

 the pupae . . . Bears had overturned 

 many flat stones and the squirrels had 

 dug cone-shaped holes in the ground 

 in search of pupae and . . . Animal 

 feces composed almost entirely of pan- 

 dora moth eggs were found." 



The value of birds in woodlands has 

 been evident since the Department of 

 Agriculture began its research on the 

 food of wild animals of farm lands some 

 50 years ago. A large amount of food is 

 consumed by birds, and injurious in- 

 sects are among the items that compose 

 the diet of many species. Investigators 

 have found 5,000 ants in the stomach 



