94 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



every leaf. The uext spring we were to quite an expense to put tarred 

 paper around the tree to lieep the worm dowu. But there were enough 

 eggs above the paper to again strip tlie trees. Had we l^nown that the 

 female is without wings and talven steps to kept her down iu the fall, 

 we could have successfully combatted the few worms that wanted to go 

 up iu the spring. 



We are often asked, and sometimes ask ourselves, "Why did God make 

 the insects?" The}' have their uses and we could ill afford to lose them. 

 They carry the pollen from plant to plant. Without them manj- plants 

 could not produce their seed. They are our scavengers. They furnish 

 us with honey, silk, dyes, ink, medicine, etc. But did the Creator intend 

 that they should destroy our crops and make life miserable? Xo, there 

 was to be a balance of power, and things were to be kept equal bj' the 

 birds. 



There is not a bird warbles his songs in our tields or woods, but is the 

 personal friend of the farmer. These song birds are social in their habits 

 and are found in greatest numbers near human habitations. The so-called 

 robin is one of our best friends. It is said that if a man could consume 

 an animal diet equivalent to that of a good healthy robin, it would take 

 a Bologna sausage nine inches iu diameter and fifteen feet long to last 

 him one day. The robin is surely one of the most industrious of our 

 friends. The swallows, too. are ever on the wing with open bill to take 

 in anything which comes iu their waj^ Yet instead of welcoming the 

 swallow as a friend, many farmers destro}' their nests and eggs. 



The woodpecker, or, as some call him, sap sucker, is looked upon with 

 disfavor by many farmers. My father gave me a gun and directed me to 

 watch the apple trees and shoot the woodpeckers. But instead of being 

 an injury the best orchardists tell me he is a decided benefit, hunting out 

 the harmful insects and in many ways benefiting the tree. 



I wish to speak a word in favor of the blackbird. When the canker- 

 worms were stripping the leaves from the elms, and spinning down upon 

 the heads of the passerby, the blackbirds came to the rescue, and valiant 

 service did they do. AVe looked, but looked iu vain, for the English 

 sparrow to come to the feast. The English sparrow in its own home may 

 be a very useful bird, but in America he is nothing but a nuisance. 



The birds are decreasing in numbers, and it is high time we looked for 

 the cause. The bobolink, once so numerous in all our fields, is seldom 

 seen. The Baltimore oriole is a very rare visitor iu the State, and the 

 dear little bluebird is not often seen. Why is this? Bird-nesting is one 

 cause of the decrease in the number of birds. This should be frowned 

 upon, as there is no need of the so-called "collections," as every bird and 

 its egg has been studied and photographed. 



There are some men and boj'S who go tramping around the couutrj- 

 with more powder than brains, who shoot anything that has life to see 

 how true their guus carry. There is a practice iu some parts of the State 

 of organizing a shooting match, when a lot of men start out aud shoot 

 everything that has life. The farmer should put his foot down, hard, on 



