10 THE WOODPECKERS 



The hairy woodpecker has been there before him, 

 and has torn the chrysalis out of its silken cra- 

 dle. For this the farmer should thank him 

 heartily, even if the butterfly-hunter does not, 

 for the cecropia caterpillar is destructive. 



But sometimes, on the fair bark of a smooth 

 limb, the woodpecker stops, listens, taps, and be- 

 gins to drill. He works with haste and energy, 

 laying open a deep hole. For what ? An apple- 

 tree borer was there cutting out the life of 



the tree. The farmer 

 could see no sign of 

 him ; neither could 



Boring larva. the woo dp eC ker, but 



he could hear the strong grub down in his little 

 chamber gnawing to make it longer, or, fright- 

 ened by the heavy footsteps on his roof, scram- 

 bling out of the way. 



It is easy to hear the borer at work in the 

 tree. When a pine forest has been burned and 

 the trees are dead but still standing, there will 

 be such a crunching and grinding of borers eat- 

 ing the dead wood that it can be heard on all 

 sides many yards away. Even a single borer 

 can sometimes be heard distinctly by putting the 

 ear to the tree. Sound travels much farther 

 through solids than it does through air ; notice 

 how much farther you can hear a railroad train 



