108 



a certain season of the year it injures or 

 destroys fruit buds or fruit. What we must 

 try and find out is the result of the sum total 

 of its activities from year- end to year-end, so 

 far as it is related to the fruit grower. This 

 is the only fair method and the only one that 

 should guide us. 



Misplaced Prejudices. 



Let us revert to the case of the Song 

 Thrush. Fruit growers are loud in their con- 

 demnation of this species. An examination 

 of its food throughout the year shows that 

 from October to April it feeds upon injurious 

 insects, slugs, snails, earthworms and the 

 seeds of weeds, during May and again later, 

 it is busy rearing its young, and similar food, 

 excepting the vegetable matter, is brought to 

 the nest. We have now June to September, 

 a period of about four months, minus the 

 period of the second brood, when it is possible 

 for this bird to injure fruit, but an exami- 

 nation of the stomach contents shows that 

 less than one-half of its food consists of 

 vegetable matter during these months, and 

 that the major portion of this is composed of 

 wild fruits. Separated and studied with the 

 greatest possible care, not more than 15 per 

 cent, of the total food consunied can be 

 classed as belonging to cultivated fruits, 

 whereas at least 30 per cent, of the food 

 during that period consists of injurious insects 

 and slugs and snails. What millions of cater- 

 pillars must be included in this item. 



One hundred thousand Song Thrushes 

 would in April, May and June, destroy up- 

 wards of 3,000,000,000 insects and cater- 

 pillars, which are capable of destroying in 

 fourteen days ntarly 10,000 tons of produce. 

 Supposing this to be fruit, and estimating its 

 value at 2d. per pound, it represents a loss of 

 nearly £200,000. No one has ever suggested 

 that the song thrush destroys anything like 

 this amount, but we do very emphatically 

 assert that it saves such a sum, or its due 

 proportion, according to the number of birds. 

 In other words, the sum total of the song 

 thrushes activity is in the fruit growers' 

 favour, and no investigation yet carried out 

 supports any other view. 



In the light of what has been said, let us 

 examine the nature of the food of a few of 

 the commoner species of wild birds and the 

 percentages of the diflferent food items. 



The Jackdaw. — Although the Jackdaw 

 locally may be very destructive, it is generally 



a most useful bird. Of the total amount of 

 food consumed annually, 71 5 per cdnt. con- 

 sists of animal food and 28"5 of vegetable 

 food. The beneficial items include 39 5 per 

 cent, of injurious insects, 4"5 per cent, of 

 injurious insects, 4"5 per cent, of slugs and 

 snails, and 4 5 per cent, of miscellaneous 

 animal matter ; the injurious items consist of 

 8 5 per cent, of cereals, 2 5 per cent, of clover, 

 25 per cent, of potatoes and roots, 3"0 per 

 cent, of fruit pulp, 2"5 per cent, of beneficial 

 insects, and 4 per cent, of eggs, game birds 

 and nestlings; the remaining 28 5 per cent, 

 being of a neutral nature. 



The Rook. — Here we have a case of a bird 

 decidedly beneficial in character, which owing 

 to its rapid increase, and the increase of such 

 birds as the starling, has been forced to 

 supplement its food supply by preying upon 

 cultivated crops. 



The Starling. — We regard this species as 

 one of the most injurious the fruit grower has 

 to contend with, and year by year its pre- 

 ference for fruit becomes more manifest. At 

 present it is a plague in the land and strong 

 repressive measures are badly needed. 



The House- SparrouK — Whilst not a fruit 

 eater to any great extent this bird does con- 

 siderable damage by destroying the buds of 

 the gooseberry and red currant ; it is also 

 reported damaging plums and apricots. It is 

 such a plague in other ways and so numerous 

 that its destruction is desirable. 



The Chaffinch. — Destroys a few buds and 

 some fruit, but the percentage is much too 

 small to be serious ; 16 "5 per cent, of its food 

 consists of injurious insects and 56 per cent, 

 of wild fruit and weed seeds. 



The Bullfinch. — Exceedingly destructive 

 and should be destroyed. 



The Great and Bht,e Tit. — Both of these 

 birds deserve the scrictest protection, and 

 fruit growers should be the first to see that 

 they obtain it. The former species consumes 

 66'5 per cent, of injurious insects and the 

 latter species 78 per cent., whilst 4*5 per cent, 

 and 8 per cent, respectively consists of blossom 

 buds and fruit pulp. Birds that consume 

 such an enormous quantity of injurious insects 

 must be of the very greatest value to the fruit 

 grower, and if he can obtain such a valuable 

 agent by the loss of a little fruit, he is getting 

 the work done with the minimum of expense. 



The Missel and Song Thrush. — Unless ab- 

 normally plentiful, as sometimes occurs in the 



