300 OUT OF DOORS. 



which stealthily consume the roots of the various crops, 

 and are all the more formidable from the invisible 

 nature of their assaults. The woodpecker, fiercely ex- 

 ecrated as a destroyer of the trees, has been a right 

 good friend to the landowner, feeding itself on the 

 minute insects that burrow into the bark or into the 

 decaying wood, and never chipping out its curious 

 tunnel except in a spot where corruption has begun and 

 is the sure precursor of death. 



The kestrel, again, that was once thought to rival 

 the kite in its raids upon the poultry-yard, is now 

 known to do good service by day as does the owl by 

 night, feeding either on the larger and more destructive 

 insects, or on the little field-mice that swarm in all 

 cultivated ground, and, if allowed to increase, make a 

 woful diminution in the harvest. All the tribe of small 

 birds, again, have been proved as benefactors to ten 

 times the value of their depredations. In this domain 

 is no restriction. Any bird is welcome to establish 

 itself wherever it can find a suitable spot, may go 

 wherever it chooses, and may eat whatever it likes. 

 Field, orchard, and garden are equally at its service, 

 and it may peck off buds from the trees, eat the cherries 

 and currants, steal the peas, or revel in the corn just as 

 its inclination may direct. 



To distinguish friends from enemies is one of the 

 first maxims in warfare, and is of primary importance 

 in our daily struggles with the soil. All nature is in 

 arms on one side or the other, and every being, whether 



