ENEMIES OF PLANTS. 317 



in a few )('ars if the 1)ircls were extermin- 

 ated.* 



" What! would you rather see the incessant stu' 

 Of insects in tlie wiiulrows of tlie hay, 



And hear tlie locust and the grasshopper 

 Their melancholy hurdy-gurdies play ? 



Is this more pleasant to you than the whir 

 Of meadow-lark, and her sweet roundelay. 



Or twitter of little tield-fares, as you take 



Vour nooning in the shade of bush and brake ? 



" You call them thieves and pillagers; but know, 

 They are the winged wardens of your farms, 



Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe, 

 And from your harvests keep a hundred harms ; 



Even the blackest of them all, the crow. 



Renders good service as your man at arms, 



Crushing the beetle in his coat of mail, 



And crying havoc on the slug and snail." 



— The Birds of Killiiigworth, Longfellow. 



2. Predaceous Insects. — Predaceous insects, 

 or those that prey tipon or eat other insects, are 

 also helpful to the farmer. 



(i) Specific Examples. — Among the most 

 useful of these insects are several species of 

 ladybugs ( Cocci ucllidcs). 



Both the adult and larval forms feed upon 



* It would be a profitable investment to plant out some Russian 

 mulberry-trees on purpose for the birds, or to grow in waste 

 places and corners such plants as hemp and sunflowers, allowing 

 them to stand throughout the winter as supplies for the birds 

 when food is scarce. 



