152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The only snake that has been seen to kill birds in this 

 locality is the black snake, and as these reptiles are not very 

 common, then* depredations are not very serious. This 

 snake devours the young of ground-breeding birds, and 

 probably the eggs also. It often climbs bushes and trees, 

 and, coiling itself around the nests of robins, tlu'ashers or 

 catbirds, devours the young in the most deliberate fashion, 

 the old birds in the mean time fluttering about in distress, or 

 doing battle with the enemy as best the}^ may. Occasionally 

 in the summer the birds may be seen crowding to a certain 

 tree or thicket and uttering cries of distress. This is always 

 the signal for some one to go to their relief, and nearly 

 ahvays a cat or a snake is found to be the cause of the 

 trouble. These snakes often catch full}^ fledged young, 

 when, or soon after, they leave the nest. We always kill 

 these snakes jlt sight. 



Skunks are so useful in killing insects that the compara- 

 tivel}^ few birds' eggs they eat cannot count heavily against 

 them. Weasels are not plentiful enough in the neighbor- 

 hood seriously to aff'ect bird life. To what extent dogs and 

 foxes destroy the eggs and young of ground birds can only 

 be conjectured. The smaller owls and the shrikes or butcher 

 birds kill some small birds ; but, as they kill mice and Eng- 

 lish sparrows, the good they accomplish far overbalances 

 the harm done. 



I approach the name of the squirrel with some reluctance, 

 for squirrels are general favorites among those wlio appre- 

 ciate the Ix'auties of nature. Their grace and beauty, their 

 sprightly and companionable ways, and their tendency to 

 confide in us when allowed to do so, have endeared them to 

 many a lonely soul. But the farmer considers all squirrels 

 pests, and rightly so. There is no animal which can do the 

 farmer so much injury in })r()})orti()n to its size as the squir- 

 rel. Squirrels not only cany ofl' enormous quantities of 

 corn, but they destroy far more strawberries than birds do, 

 and they ruin ten times as mau}^ i)ears, peaches and grapes 

 as they can ])ossibly make use of. The fruit is bitten, and 

 then thrown to the ground to rot. They will go over 

 planted ground and dig up the seed of squashes. They will 



