308 



AGRICULTURE. 



Of the birds of the open field the farmer has 

 no better friend than the meadow-lark. It is 

 unrivaled as a destroyer of injurious insects. 



The stomachs of two hundred and thirty- 

 eight meadow-larks, collected from twenty-four 

 different States, and in every month of the year, 



FIG. 104. — MEADOW-LARK (Saiuynella inagna). 

 (United States Department of Agriculture.) 



examined by the United States Division of En- 

 tomology, showed that 72 per cent, of the food 

 of these larks was insects, while only 27 per 

 cent, was vegetable matter. 



The unassuming little house-wren is one of 

 the most useful birds in destroying insect pests. 



Actual examination of the contents of the 

 stomachs of wrens by the Division of Entomol- 



