188 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



BIBDS — THEIR USEFTJLNESS. 



r »»•'■•' 



THR PnCEBE-BIRD. 



It is a noticeable 

 fact that of late 

 years tlie insect 

 pests of tlie garden 

 and orchard are 

 increasing to an 

 alarming extent, 

 and the ravages 

 they commit upon 

 fruit trees and 

 fruit may well 

 nigh lead the fruit- 

 culturist to despair 

 of success. Plums, nectarines, and apricots, have 

 almost disappeared, owing to the ravages of the 

 curculio. Good cherries, even, are becoming scarce. 

 Apples and Pears a-re too often worm-eaten and 

 worthless. Grapes, though comparatively free 

 from insects or diseases, as yet, are to the multi- 

 tude as sour as they were to the fox in ^sop's 

 fable. The insect and vermin destroyers of our 

 field crops are also becoming more numerous every 

 year. On the other hand, insectivorous birds, de- 

 signed to keep them in check, are wantonly de- 

 stroyed by man. What if the birds do occasion- 

 ally pick a cherry or a strawberry ? It will be 

 generally found that they take only those contain- 

 ing the larvas of some insect. Instead of destroy- 

 ing the birds, would it not be better to look upon 

 them as the best friends of the farmer and garden- 

 er, and to encourage their presence among us by 

 leaving them to enjoy the short period of life allot- 

 ted to them, unharmel by tlie fowler's gun or the 

 nest-robbing proclivities of recreant school-boys or 

 lazy loafers. Well may the cultivator be content 



to allow the trib- 

 ute of a few of 

 his smaller fruits 

 to the watchful 

 guardians of his 

 trees and crops. 

 We give cuts 

 and descriptions 

 of a iQ'fr of the 

 more important 

 and useful of 

 these birds, mam- 

 ly derived from 

 an excellent arti- 

 cle by 0. N. Bk- 

 HEJTT, in the Rural Annual for 1858. 



The Barn Owl. — This queer-looking but useful 

 bird affords an instance of mistaken persecution. 





THS BABK OWL. 



Wo often see his carcass nailed to the barn-dooi 

 Yet he destroys and feeds upon the rats, mice, am 

 other vermin that infest the barn and the harves 

 fields. Farmers are apt to suppose that becaus 

 the owl resorts to the barn, he destroys the egg 

 and young of their pigeons and fowls; but h 

 merely seeks repose and concealment during th 

 glare of daylight. 



THE BLACKBIRD. 



TnE Blacebird is the avowed enemy of all gru^ 

 and may be seen in large flocks in a recently-plow 

 field, industriously searching for these vermin. 

 Not content with a superficial search on the si 

 face, he pokes about with his bill to the depth 

 several inchep, to discover the worms. 



The Phcebe 1'ikd is a sociable little fellow, a 

 generally builds his nest 

 in the porch or under 

 the eaves. They arrive 

 early in the spring, and 

 the first chirp sends glad- 

 ness through the house, 

 as it is a sure sign thnt 

 the severe frosts are end- 

 ed, and the gardener may 

 resume his labors with 

 confidence. They feed 

 on flies and various small 

 insects. 



The Wren is another 

 nice, sociable little bird, 

 and destroys vast numbers of insects. An obse 

 ing lover of birds counted fifty times in one h 

 that one pair ot wrens went forth to bring fooc 

 their nestlings; and he says they never retnn 

 without an insect in their bills. This perpetual 

 ing forth and returning is repeated from morn 

 till night and continued till th« young birds 



TOE HOrSE WREN. 



