PLANTS USEFUL TO ATTRACT BIRDS. 195 



The chief essential to the success of this plan is that the decoy trees 

 shall be early bearing species, for almost all of the damage to fruit 

 by birds is inflicted on the earliest varieties, evidently because of the 

 scarcity of early wild fruit. Probably cherries, raspberries, and 

 strawberries suffer more in the aggregate than all of the later fruits. 

 Fortunately we have a fruit which fills this need, one which ripens 

 with the earliest cherries and is a favorite with all frugivorous birds, 

 namely, the mulberry, both native and cultivated. 



Three varieties of the native mulberry (Morus rubra), namely, the 

 Hicks, Stubbs, and Townsend, are especially successful in the South- 

 ern States, though the Hicks is known to thrive in the Carolinian 

 faunal areas and Stubbs in the Alleghenian. The Townsend is a com- 

 paratively new variety and its hardiness is unknown, but it ripens 

 fruit remarkably early and should be given a thorough trial. Ac- 

 cording to Prof. L. H. Bailey, the New American (often sold under 

 the name Downing) is the best mulberry known for the Northern 

 States. The Russian mulberry is the hardiest variety and is a favorite 

 in the plains region and other places where great extremes of tempera- 

 ture prevail. It succeeds in as diverse climates as those of North 

 Dakota and New Mexico. The New American, Russian, and Black 

 Persian mulberries are known to do well in California, and the indi- 

 cations are that the latter is suited to conditions in the Lower Sonoran 

 faunal area. When planting mulberries for the purpose of protecting 

 cultivated fruits, the earliest fruiting varieties obtainable should be 

 used. 



Among fruits suitable for the same purpose, but not now known to 

 be as valuable as mulberries, are the mahaleb or stock cherry (Prunus 

 mahaleb) and the European bird cherry (Prunus padus). Among 

 native fruits the only ones that can be recommended at present are 

 the service berry or Juneberry (Amelanchier) , redberried elder 

 (Sambucus pubens), and wild strawberries and raspberries. Patches 

 of the earliest varieties of these small berries are very attractive to 

 birds. 



Injury to later fruits, except in localities where there are no wild 

 fruits, is more difficult to prevent, as in such cases it probably arises 

 from preference by the birds for a particular cultivated fruit. Thus 

 grapes suffer seriously in some places. The always reliable mul- 

 berries are useful even at this season } as some varieties continue in 

 bearing from two to six months. Elderberries are probably the 

 most valuable native fruit for attracting birds in the summer and 

 fall, particularly in the West, where they have a long fruiting season. 

 In the North and East no summer fruits are more attractive to birds 

 than the black cherry (Prunus serotina) and choke cherry (Prunus 

 virginian^) , 



