204 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and some weed seeds, and j)icked up some sustenance in the 

 l)arn yard. 



As the cold and snow increased, many robins in the south 

 were driven into the cities and viUages to feed on China 

 berries and other berries, where they were killed in large 

 numbers by the people. Statements have been published to 

 the eli'ect that robins are intoxicated or stupefied by the 

 China berries and thus fall an easy prey to the gunner. 

 Whatever the cause, robins have been quite generally scarce, 

 not only in Massachusetts but in many northern States this 

 year, and bluebirds have been much fewer from Pennsyl- 

 vania to Canada and from Massachusetts to Michigan than 

 they were in the year 1911. They must have suffered very 

 severely in some part of the country from some cause. 



Mr. James Henry Rice, Jr., wrote me from Summerville, 

 S. C, on Jan. 21, 1912, that there had been some snow in 

 that region and much cold, but the damage to the birds must 

 have been slight. Fox sparrows swarmed in yards and tit- 

 larks were unusually abundant. Many doves were killed and 

 a slaughter of robins occurred, but he feels sure that if any 

 birds perished as a result of cold or storm, there was nothing 

 comparable to the disaster in 1899. 



Attracting Bluebirds in Winter. 

 Mr. George E. Hoxsie states that for several years he has 

 kept bluebirds in winter. He writes on jSTov. 7, 1912, that 

 there were as many as 30 bluebirds which seemed to be select- 

 ing tenements in his bird houses on that day. He states that 

 from 20 to 30 birds usually remain about his place during 

 the winter, passing the night in his bird houses and going 

 out over the country to feed during the day. Some of the 

 excrement, taken from his bird houses in winter, was sent 

 to the United States Department of Agi-iculture in order to 

 determine the character of the food. Mr. W. A. McAtee of 

 the Department of Agi-iculture examined the excrement and 

 found it to contain 66 seeds of bayberry (Myrica carolinen- 

 sis) ; 63 seeds of nonpoisonous sumach (Rhvs glabra or 

 copaUina) ; 11 seeds of poison ivy (Rhus Toxicodendron) ; 



