GENERAL PRACTICE. PROTECTION. I9I 



When numerous, however, the adult birds sometimes do considerable mischief to 

 fruit trees and bushes in denuding them of buds. They are the most destructive 

 because most numerous near towns and farmsteads. Thinning their number is the 

 wisest course. In some localities the sparrow- catcher with a purse net captures suffi- 

 cient birds to pay him for its employment at night against ivy-clad buildings, hay or 

 corn stacks, or over evergreen bushes, and in most cases clears these useful creatures 

 quite fast and close enough to serve the best interests of the fruit grower. 



The Greenfinch (Coccothraustes chloris) frequents gardens and fruit plantations, and 

 feeds on grain, seeds, or insects. Its depredations on fruit buds are, in our experience, 

 confined to plum trees, and it is rarely injurious. The Great Titmouse (Parus major) 

 takes a few fruit buds ; and the Blue Titmouse (Parus cceruleus), though having a bad 

 character, feeds mainly on insect larvae, thus rendering service to fruit growers ; yet it 

 also does injury in dissecting buds in the search for insects. The undue increase of 

 birds in certain localities should be prevented, and their wholesale and indiscriminate 

 destruction serves no useful purpose, but, on the contrary, may be attended with serious 

 consequences, and is, therefore, strongly deprecated. 



Preserving Buds. As a preventive of birds taking fruit buds, Mr. Taylor, a success- 

 ful fruit grower and exhibitor, recommends the following dressing as quite harmless to 

 fruit trees, and obnoxious to birds. " The ingredients are a quarter peck or more of 

 quite fresh quicklime, a pint of sulphur, and \\ pounds of soft soap. Choose lime that 

 weighs very lightly, dip a few of the lumps in or sprinkle with water (hot water is the 

 quickest in action) and place in a bucket or other vessel, sprinkle a little of the sulphur 

 thinly over it, then add more lime, just damp enough to slake, then add more sulphur on 

 the top of it, repeating this process till all the sulphur is used. When the lime is 

 slaked it will be seen that the sulphur is quite dissolved, and is scarcely visible except 

 in the darker colour it has given to the lime. The quantity of lime used is not 

 important so long as there is sufficient to dissolve the sulphur. The soft soap should 

 be dissolved separately, and afterwards mixed with the lime and sulphur, and sufficient 

 water added to make three gallons in all. If the mixture is not thick enough to 

 apply with a brush, clay or more lime may be added. If the glaring white is objected 

 to, mix soot with it. If mixed in the way I have described and applied in dry 

 weather, no amount of rain will wash it off, but if lime is used that has been some time 

 exposed to the air, the sulphur will not properly dissolve, and the first shower will 

 wash it off. It is necessary to caution my readers against dissolving the sulphur in 



