thirteen] securing OUR ALLIES 



can be done with the waste or inferior honey, or 

 with sugar. 



There is hardly a single hopeless pest among the 

 animals that you are likely to meet with in your 

 new country home. One of the few is the English 

 sparrow, a bird that has no redeeming qualities to 

 make his mischief endurable. He feeds almost al- 

 together on grain or fruit, destroying insects only 

 when he must. He should be driven from every 

 reputable homestead, as he can be by persistent 

 antagonism and by making it comfortable for other 

 sorts of birds. The crow kills a few mice without 

 doubt, but he eats young robins. I allowed a tame 

 crow to hop around my house for a few days. He 

 stole everything that he could carry off, and one 

 morning there were bird feathers outside the door. 

 He had raided one of my catbird nests early in the 

 morning. This led to a prompt remedy. Black- 

 birds are such inveterate corn-pullers, and so much 

 disliked by pet birds, that they also are left out of 

 my commune. 



I am sorry that to this list of hopeless outcasts 

 I must add the red squirrel. If one appears dur- 

 ing nesting time in my trees, the whole lawn is in 

 a flutter of excitement. They eat young birds 



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