22 



time, only eating a small section out of the stem of each and leaving the plants 

 dead on the surface of the ground. Whole rows of peas, corn, beets, cabbage and 

 cauliflower are often so treated ; tomatoes, too, fare badly with them. The only 

 remedy that seems effectual against their attacks is to wrap paper around the 

 stems of the plants from the surface of the soil to the height of about three inches 

 above it. This is obviously impossible in the case of field crops, and it is equally 

 impossible to go over the fields and take the worms out by hand, so that we must 

 rely, for the most part, upon the ground feeders amongst the birds ; these are fitted 

 by nature for digging out the insects and devouring them. 



Robin. Among the most conspicuous of these birds is the Robin and one 

 need only watch one of them at work in the garden, from April to about the 

 middle of June (which is the season of the cut worm's activity) to be satisfied as 

 to the Robin's good work. I will give the result of an experiment carried on by 

 myself, which will satisfy anyone as to the number of these insects a pair of 

 Robins will destroy when they are feeding a brood of young. In May, 1889, I 

 noticed a pair of Robins digging out cut worms in my garden, whirh was infested 

 with them, and saw they were carrying them to their nest in a tree close by. On 

 the 21st of that month I found one of the young on the ground, it having fallen 

 out of the nest, and in order to see how much insect food it required daily I took 

 it to my house and raised it by hand. Up to the 6th of June it had eaten from 

 *ifty to seventy cut worms and earth worms every day. On the 9th of June I 

 weighed the bird; its weight was exactly three ounces, and then I tried how 

 much it would eat, it being now quite able to feed itself. With the assistance of 

 my children I gathered a large number of cut worms and gave them to the Robin 

 after weighing them. In the course of that day it ate just five and one-half 

 ounces of cut worms. These grubs averaged thirty to the ounce, so the young 

 Robin ate one hundred and sixty-five cut worms in one day. Had it been at 

 liberty it would probably have eaten some insects of other species and fewer cut 

 worms, but this shows near about what each young Robin requires for its main- 

 tainance when growing ; the adult birds require much less, of course. The aver- 

 age number of young raised by a Robin is four, and there are usually two broods 

 in the season A very simple calculation will give a good idea of the number of 

 insects destroyed while the young are in the nest. After the young have flown 

 they are apt to visit the small fruit, and it is no doubt very provoking to find a 

 flock of them helping themselves to strawberries, etc. If possible, they should be 

 kept off without destroying them, a resort to the gun being avoided as long as 

 possible. 



Bluebird. Twenty years ago the Bluebird was one of the most abundant of 

 the summer residents in the cultivated districts of the Province ; there was 

 scarcely a farm throughout southern Ontario upon which two or more pairs of 

 these birds did not breed. The same birds seemed to return regularly to occupy 

 their holes in the old apple trees and fence posts year after year, and so familiar 

 were they that they actually seemed to know the members of the family whose 

 premises they occupied. In one case, near Niagara, a pair of Bluebirds for sev- 

 eral year in succession built their nests in a letter box which was placed at the 

 gate of the farm, opening on the main road. The mail carrier deposited letters 

 and newspapers in the box every day, which were duly taken out by the members 

 of the family. To all this the birds paid no attention whatever, but would con- 

 fidently sit upon their eggs or visit their young while the box was opened and 

 people stood close to them ; and I have seen many similar instances of confidence 

 on the part of these birds. 



Of late years the Bluebirds have not remained with us, and they have been 

 much missed. Enquiries are constantly being made as to where the Bluebirds 



