Birds and the Fruit-Farm 299 



But let us be more particular and look more 

 [closely at our native bird-food supply: red-cedar, 

 [mulberry, pokeberry, sassafras, spice bush, black- 

 currant, the raspberries, frost-grape^, dogwood, 

 [blueberries, snowberries — ^and the list might be 

 lengthened. Call the roll. Do any of these wild 

 things answer "Present"? Are any of yesterday? 

 Where are the dogwoods, the fox-grapes? Gone, 

 (and the birds that fed on them. If a man cannot 

 jet bread, will he eat a stone? Or will he throw 

 ?the stone and eat the bird? If the birds cannot get 

 [their daily bread will they eat stones? Or will 

 [they turn to garden and orchard, to field and farm- 

 yard, and get woimds to their death? **Yes," 

 says the farmer, "but I can't keep my land in the 

 wild just to feed birds." "True," replies the 

 bird, "but I must eat, and whereas I once fed 

 bountifully on mulberries and poke-weed, now I 

 must feed on cutworms, cabbage-lice, and some 

 tame fruit — ^very tame." The farmer is loading 

 his gun. "But I pay my bills," resimies the bird 

 with its weather eye on the gun barrel; "and 

 really, I prefer choke-berry to cabbage worms; 

 but you, friend farmer — ^just put down the gun, 

 please, till I am through; you have cut down all 

 the choke-berry and set all out to cabbages; if 

 I can stand the change of diet, certainly you can 

 stand — ^just point the other way, please ! — ^to let 

 me alone." 



* ' Bang ! Well, that robin won't eat no more cher- 

 ries off my trees ! ' ' And Farmer G rimstone reloads. 



