244 THE FARMER'S FRIENDS 



made for them, and the thoughtless cruelty of the small 

 boy should be stopped. 



QUESTIONS 



1. In what ways do useful birds help the farmer? 



2. What birds are of greatest value to the farmer? 



3. What birds in your state are protected by law? What 

 birds are considered harmful ? 



4. In what way is the ichneumon fly useful ? 



5. What service is rendered to the farmer by bumblebees? 



6. In what ways are toads useful on the farm? 



PRACTICAL EXERCISES 



1. Find out by observation what things are eaten by the 

 various species of birds. Make a list of birds that search for 

 food among the leaves of trees ; of birds that search for insects 

 in the bark of trees ; of birds that catch flying insects ; of birds 

 that eat weed seeds ; of birds that live on insects and other 

 small animals in the ground. 



2. In the fall look for large caterpillars whose backs are cov- 

 ered with small, white cocoons that inclose the pupae of ich- 

 neumon flies. When you find such a caterpillar, keep it in a 

 glass jar until the adult flies emerge from the cocoons. An ich- 

 neumon fly laid her eggs in or on the body of the caterpillar. 

 The young maggots that hatched from the eggs fed upon the 

 blood of the caterpillar, and some time before its death they 

 came out to the surface and formed cocoons about themselves. 

 You may find a caterpillar at the time when the maggots are 

 coming out of its body. As you watch, you may see the forma- 

 tion of the cocoons. 



