The up-to-date fruit grower should never plant an orchard or 

 attempt to cultivate small fruit without first providing rows of 

 early wild fruit to attract birds away from his cultivated 

 varieties. Otherwise, unless there is a quantity of wild fruit 

 growing in the neighborhood, birds are likely to reduce his 

 profits. The problem of attracting native birds in New Eng- 

 land has been complicated by the introduction from Europe of 

 the starling This species is now locally common or even 

 abundant, and its flocks devour quantities of wild fruit which 

 otherwise might serve as food for native birds, which are thus 

 deprived of much fruit intended for them, especially during the 

 inclement days of winter. Therefore, it is imperative now to 

 provide much more food for them than ever before. 



Plants Attractive to Fruit-eating Birds. 



Farmers know that certain birds are fond of the earliest 

 cherries and strawberries, and that some will feed voraciously 

 on raspberries and blackberries unless there is other more at- 

 tractive food near. Therefore, if fruit is wanted only for home 



use it is well to plant enough 

 for the family and the birds. 

 If cultivated small fruits are 

 planted in quantity, all the 

 fruit-eating birds of the neigh- 

 borhood will be there when the 

 fruit is ripening. But there 

 are other fruits even more 

 attractive to birds. First 

 among these for early sum- 

 mer are the wild strawberry 

 (Fragaria americana) , the June- 

 berry or service-berry (Amelanchier canadensis), the red-berried 

 elder (Sambucus racemosa) and the white mulberry (morus alba). 

 The wild strawberry fruits as early as the cultivated varieties, 

 and it lasts longer. The Juneberry is earlier than the earliest 

 cherries, and is supposed to hang later, but in my experience the 

 birds get all the Juneberries before July 4, and if gray squir- 

 rels are very numerous they are likely to take the fruit even 

 before it becomes ripe enough for the birds. This is a fine 



Tupelo or sour gum. 



