244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



robin on other than animal food. The bird will usually die on the second or third 

 day, but on the other hand, give him plenty of insects, such as moths, beetles, grubs, 

 vine worms, chrysolids, and caterpillars, and he will soon grow healthy and strong. 



Mr. Trouvelt, of Medford, Mass., one of the largest growers of silk worms in the 

 United States, lost so many worms by the depredations of birds, principally robins, 

 that he found it necessary to cover his entire patch (when the worms were fed), 

 consisting of over eight acres, with netting to protect them, and even then it Avas 

 only by constant watching that they were prevented from breaking through the 

 netting. As an experiment, he placed a thousand silk worms on a scrub oak, just 

 outside of his grounds, and caused it to be watched. Jn three days the worms were 

 all gone. The robins, with the help of a few cat-birds, had eaten every one. Mr. 

 Trouvelt, although a loser himself, gave the result of his experiment to show the 

 love of the robin for insect food. 



I may well add to the above a list of such birds as are known to be insect de- 

 stroyers, in hopes that it may, to some extent, check the almost wholesale destruc- 

 tion of our birds, which is going on to such a great extent in our State. A few 

 years ago robins, black birds, jays, yellow hammers, orioles, thrushes and cat-birds 

 nested within our city in large numbers, but owing to the introduction of the Eng- 

 lish sparrow, and to largely increased numbers destroyed by city and farmer boys> 

 since the introduction of cheap fire aims, which I might say are an invention of 

 late years, these birds ha.ve almost entirely left us, only a few straggling robins 

 and blue birds remaining. It may be of interest to note that I have made numer- 

 ous inquiries amongst persons gardening in or near the city, and that they have all 

 united in saying that their fruit and garden stuff' has suffered more from the at- 

 tacks of insects during the past summer than ever before. I am thoroughly con- 

 vinced that this is largely due to the almost total extinction of our insectivorous 

 birds in and near the city. 



The law passed by our last Legislature prohibiting the killing of nearly all of 

 our song birds was well timed and to the point, but it seems usele.ss to have and 

 make such a law unless it is enforced. 1 think that if there was a reward of say 

 from $1 to S3 offered for each offender arrested and convicted under this law, it 

 would have a summary effect upon the promiscuous shooting now indulged in hy 

 nearly everybody who has a gun. I know of a number of boys and young men 

 in our city, who make it their boast of killing so many robins or so many blue 

 birds on each hunting excursion. If such parties as these were made to pay one 

 or two good fines they would stop this so-called sport and go into more legitimate 

 pursuits. 



The following is a list of birds known to be destroyers of injurious insects : 

 Blue bird, robin, cat bird, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, clay-colored sparrow,, 

 black- throated bunting, indigo bird, ground robin (chewink), cardinal grosbeak, 

 black bird (crow , black bird (cow), black bird (red-winged), bobolink, meadow 

 lark, king bird, pewee, cuckoo, night hawk, chimney swallow, sparrow hawk, 

 woodpeckers (all kinds), quail, large snipe, plover, prairie chicken, warblers (small 

 warbling birds found in spring and summer, usually brightcolorcdj'and martins. 



Indianapoi.is, December, 1884. 



