21 



garding me at first with some suspicion, but soon went in and 

 fed the young a large, green caterpillar which she had brought. 

 While I kept this position both birds came again, the female 

 going in at once and feeding the young as before; but the 

 male alighted on top of the box, scanning my face with his 

 bright dark eyes for some time before he would trust himself 

 to enter. The young were evidently fully fledged and ready to 

 fly. Two of them had flown already and had been returned 

 to the box. The parent birds stopped feeding them and began 

 to call. They were answered by the young. At this moment 

 the old birds flew, one to the box and the other to the edge 

 of the roof overhead, while the young all sprang out in quick 

 succession, all but two of them alighting on my arms, head 

 or shoulders, much to the delight of the children, who were 

 watching from below. The old birds came to me and piloted 

 the young to the branches of a pear tree near by. This happy 

 family remained about the vicinity for some time, and probably 

 still forms a part of one of the flocks of chickadees now in the 

 neighborhood. 



This account is given with all its details to show how readily 

 the chickadee will accept our hospitality, and how valuable 

 an acquisition it would be to the birds which nest about the 

 farm buildings. It is hoped that others may be led to ex- 

 periment with it in the same way. This family of chickadees 

 and a family of bluebirds, that was raised in a box on the apple 

 tree near by, kept the fruit and shade trees near the house quite 

 free from injurious insects. A nest of the tent caterpillar which 

 appeared on the apple tree where the bluebirds built their 

 nest was rifled of its contents. Two young apple trees that 

 swarmed with plant lice were almost entirely cleared, and 

 suffered no injury from the lice; while two on the hill beyond 

 the garden, where the chickadees did not go, suffered much 

 from these pests, and finally died. With eleven hungry nest- 

 lings to be fed, the few cankerworms hatched from the eggs 

 overlooked by the birds were soon disposed of. 



Now, let us return to the garden. The care of a garden 

 seldom fails to banish sleep in the morning. The least sound 

 is sufficient to arouse you. At a light, intermittent pattering 

 sound on the roof you are awake at once. It is only a gray 



