UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 



sips his apple-tree tipple leisurely. The drain upon 

 the vitality of the tree at any one time, by this tap- 

 ping, cannot be very serious, but in the course of 

 years must certainly affect its vigor considerably. 

 I have seen it stated in print, by a writer who evi- 

 dently draws upon his fancy for his facts, that in 

 making these holes the bird is settmg a trap for in- 

 sects, and that these are what it feeds upon. But the 

 bird is a sapsucker; there are no insects at his wells 

 to-day; he visits them very regularly, and is con- 

 stantly drilling new ones. 



His mate, or at least a female, comes, and I over- 

 hear the two in soft, gentle conversation. "\Mien 

 I appear upon the scene, the female scurries away 

 in alarm, calling as she retreats, as if for the male to 

 follow; but he does not. He eyes me for a moment, 

 and then sidles round behind the trunk of the tree, 

 and as I go back to my table I hear his hammer 

 again. YeTV soon the female is back and I hear their 

 conversation cjoing; on as before. Dav after dav the 

 male is here tapping the trees. His blows are soft 

 and can be heard onlv a few vards awav. He evi- 

 dently has his favorites. In this orchard of twenty 

 or more trees, only two are worked now, and only 

 three have ever been worked much. The two favor- 

 ites bear hard, sour fruit. The bark of a sweet apple- 

 tree does not show a single hole. A grafted tree 

 shows no holes on the original stock, but many 

 punctures on the graft. One day I saw the bird 



3 



