TKe Fruit Grcwer and tKe Robin 



WITH the approach of the cherry 

 season each year many fruit grow- 

 ers begin to worry over the devas- 

 tation that may be wrought among the 

 fruits by the robin. Some orchardists 

 go so far as to assert that every robin 

 should be killed; others look on this 

 cherry lover with a more kindly eye 

 and consider that the benefit derived 

 from the same bird's destruction of in- 

 sects more than repays them for the 

 cherries he takes. Statistics from bird 

 enthusiasts who have analysed the con- 

 tents of robins' stomachs, show that only 

 a small percentage of this bird's diet 

 consists of cultivated fruits. 



It is natural for living beings to prefer 

 a mixed diet. The robin, being no ex- 

 ception to this law of nature, selects 

 fruit to mix with his animal or insect 

 diet. Cherries are ripe about the right 

 time to furnish an appetizing food for 

 the fully fledged spring brood, and if 

 no other fruit is supplied he takes the 

 cherry. If that fruit is to be found in 

 great supply and of good quality it is 

 but natural for him to break from his 

 customary insect diet for a few days. 

 At all times, however, it will be found 

 that insects comprise the major portion 

 of the food consumed. 



Since the bird is a benefit to fruit men 

 in so far as he devours the more destruct- 

 ive fruit enemies, the insects in various 

 stages, should not something be done 

 whereby robins can be kept in our 

 orchards? Why not supply him with 

 mulberries or wild cherries, or some such 

 fruits, to satisfy his appetite for the 

 fruit crop? A few trees near the groves 

 or shrubberies which the birds frequent 

 would do much to prevent them from 

 taking the marketable crop. 



The Horticulturist has received 

 expressions of opinions from fruit grow- 

 ers in different sections of Ontario, as 

 well as from Dr. Fletcher, of Ottawa. 

 A few of them are as follows : 



Dr. James Fletcher, of the Central 

 Experimental Farm, Ottawa, who has 

 given this subject much attention, 

 writes: "I would most decidedly oppose 

 any action on the part of fruit growers 

 tending towards the destruction of the 

 American robin, on the ground that 

 these birds are beneficial, a considera- 

 tion which affects the whole community. 

 The only evidence against them is from 

 fruit growers in the vicinity of towns. 

 Such a question would have to be de- 

 cided on the evidence of specialists who 

 have studied the food habits of these 

 birds, and not from the statements of 

 any one class of the community who 

 had been disappointed bv the destruc 

 tion of even the best specimens of one 

 of their crops, unless these statements 

 were backed up by proved facts con- 

 cerning the food habits. 



"Prof. F. E. L. Real. Assistant Fi- 

 ologist of the United States Depart- 



ment of Agriculture, in discussing How 

 Birds Affect the Orchard, says, 'The 

 robin has often brought itself into un- 

 enviable notoriety by its depredations 

 upon small fruits. Sometimes people 

 who grow a few choice cherries do not 

 get even a sample of the fruit, and 

 those who raise fine strawberries for 

 family use secure only a few boxes. On 

 the other hand thousands of fruit raisers 

 in various parts of the country are 

 never troubled by robins, although 

 these birds may be just as abundant in 

 their vicinity as elsewhere. 



'An examination of the stomachs of 

 500 robins collected in various parts of 

 the country shows that cultivated fruit 

 forms less than eight per cent, of their 

 diet, and that practically all of this is 

 eaten in June and July, while wild fruits 

 form more than 43 per cent, of the year's 

 food. Complaints have come from locali- 

 ties that lack those wild fruits which 

 the robins evidently prefer — near cities, 

 where such fruits have been destroyed, 

 and in the prairie regions where they 

 rarely grow, except in restricted areas 

 along rivers.' 



"Prof. S. A. Forbes, of Illinois, who 

 made a careful investigation of the food 

 of this bird some years ago, found that 

 enormous numbers of injurious insects 

 were destroyed by robins. He found 

 that the total percentage of injurious 

 insects eaten was February, 18; May, 

 37; March, 37; April, 39; May, 55; June, 

 24; July, 10; August, 3 1 ; September, 

 7 ; while the percentages of fruits 

 and seeds eaten were June, 58 ; July, 79 ; 

 August, 56; Septemljer, 70; October, 

 56. In June cherries formed 47 per 

 cent, of the food. 



"Mr. A. W. Butler, Ornithologist to 

 the Geological Survey of Indiana, sums 

 up this matter as follows: 'It is safe 

 to say that noxious insects comprise 

 more than one-third of the robin's food. 

 Vegetable food was found to be nearly 

 58 per cent, of that eaten, wild fruits 

 forming 47 per cent., and varieties that 

 were possibly cultivated a little more 

 than four per cent. They ate 25 percent, 

 of cultivated fruit in June and July. 

 Wild fruit was eaten every month in 

 the year. Small fruits and cherries 

 that ripen early are almost the only 

 fruits that are eateii to any extent. 

 By July, and after that, there is an 

 abundance of wild fruits that are more 

 to its taste. The robin takes 10 times 

 as much wild as cultivated fruit. The 

 wild plants upon which it feeds most 

 are not those gathered by man or adopt- 

 ed by him for cultivation. It would be 

 well to plant a few extra plants or trees 

 for the birds, or to plant a few of some 

 such trees as the Russian Mulberry, to 

 the fruit of which robins are particularly 

 partial.' 



"The above facts," concludes Dr. 

 Fletcher, "are only a few of many that 



14S 



will have to be investigated by fruit 

 growers who consider the robin an in- 

 jurious bird." 



AGAINST THE ROBIN 



"Personally, I have no love for the 

 robin," writes Mr. Chris. Firth, of Dur- 

 ham. "There are scores of other in- 

 sectivorous birds that never touch 

 fruits, and are never mentioned by 

 writers on the subject. These birds are 

 seldom seen chiefly because their nesting- 

 places are destroyed. They are not 

 driven away by the English sparrows, 

 as most writers try to make out. There 

 is no bird more libelled than this same 

 little brownie, but he still lives, and 

 probably will for some time to come. 



"About 20 years ago, when I bought 

 the place on which I live, it was a com- 

 mons and one of the worst, not a tree 

 on the part where I built my house. 

 When the house was up I planted trees 

 and shrubs all around where I thought 

 they would be most effective as shelter, 

 shade and ornament. Some evergreens 

 are now nearly 30 feet high, and some 

 of the isolated ones are beauties. They 

 are mostly natives, such as balsams, 

 spruce and pines. I still continue to 

 plant. The consequence is a great 

 variet}' of birds nest around my home. 

 For 17 years I have permitted English 

 sparrows to build in the roof of my 

 house, just above my bedroom window, 

 and on no occasion have I known them 

 to interfere with other birds, some of 

 which build within five yards of the 

 house. These birds include warblers, 

 chipping and song sparrows, catbird, 

 kingbird, and others. The scarlet tan- 

 ager I have not seen for years. The 

 Baltimore oriole and rose-breasted gros- 

 beak I seldom see. 



"These are all more or less insectivor- 

 ous birds. Their absence is due to the 

 same cause — nesting places are destroy- 

 ed. There is also another cause — the 

 domestic cat. I don't keep them, and 

 kill every one I find prowling around. 

 Then there is the man with the gun 

 who likes to be called a sport. If read- 

 ers of The Horticulturist, and others, 

 will plant more trees and shrubs, and 

 then plant a few' more, a great many of 

 the birds would return and be of in- 

 calculable benefit to the fruit growers." 



Mr. W. M. Robson, Lindsay: "It is 

 easy to forget and forgive old feuds 

 and depredations. If opinions were 

 received from small fruit growers during 

 the months of July and August, I 

 fear the verdict would be against the 

 robin. He does not possess compen- 

 sating qualities equivalent to the de- 

 struction and damage done by him. 

 He has a voracious appetite for cher 

 ries, strawberries, red currants, white 

 currants, raspberries, peas and grapes. 

 I am sorry to present such an indict- 

 ment against one of the feathered tribe 



