PERSONA NON GRATA 39 



birds should strip all the berries from that tree 

 before eating any from the other. When we 

 know that the favorite tree stands directly in 

 front of the windows of a much-used room and 

 overhangs a frequented garden path, the prefer- 

 ence becomes more marked. But robins, gros- 

 beaks, purple finches, and the whole berry-eating 

 tribe agree to choose one and neglect the other, 

 and even the spring migrants will leave the gay 

 red tassels of fruit still swinging on one tree, to 

 scratch over the leaves and eat the fallen berries 

 that lie beneath the other. My own taste is not 

 keen in choosing between bitter berries, but the 

 birds all agree that there is a decided difference 

 in these trees, did agree, I should say, for their 

 favorite is the tree that is dying. Evidently 

 this is a question of taste. It is interesting to 

 observe that the sapsucker, which was never 

 seen to touch the fruit of the trees, agrees with 

 the fruit-eating birds. Nearly all his punctures 

 were in the tree now dying. Is there a differ- 

 ence in the taste of the sap ? Does the taste of 

 the sap affect the taste of the fruit ? Or is it 

 merely a question of quantity? If he comes for 

 sap, he prefers one tree to the other on the score 

 either of better quality or greater quantity. 



We will discuss later whether it is sap that he 

 wishes : all that now concerns us is to note 



