38 THE WOODPECKERS 



with the story. Do not be surprised that I 

 speak of them as friends ; the naturalist who 

 does not make friends of the creatures and 

 plants about will hear few stories from them. 

 These trees would not tell this tale to any one 

 but an intimate acquaintance. Let us hear what 

 they have to say about the sapsucker. 



There are in the garden of my old home two 

 mountain ash trees, thirty-six years of age, each 

 having grown from a sprout that sprang up be- 

 side an older tree cut down in 1863. They stand 

 not more than two rods apart ; have the same 

 soil, the same amount of sun and rain, the same 

 exposure to wind, and equal care. During all 

 the years of my childhood one was a perfectly 

 healthy tree, full of fruit in its season, while the 

 other bore only scanty crops, and was always 

 troubled with cracked and scaling bark. To- 

 day the unhealthy tree is more vigorous than 

 ever before, while its formerly stalwart brother 

 stands a mere wreck of its former life and beauty. 

 What should be the cause of such a remarkable 

 change when all conditions of growth have re- 

 mained the same ? 



I admit that there is some internal difference 

 in the trees, for all the birds tell me of it. One 

 has always borne larger and more abundant fruit 

 than the other, but this is no reason why the 



