ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



169 



queutly one of these small birds would carry off 

 four or five grubs at ouce, often having to lay 

 them down and take them up several times 

 before it could get secure hold of them all. 



When we consider how common these birds 

 are, it is easy to conceive that they must destroy 

 an immense number of larva? in the course of 

 the season. 



Whilst writing this article, I have obtained 

 several specimens of this kind of bii"d, both male 

 and female, for the purpose of identifying the 

 species with certainty. Upon examining the 

 contents of the stomach 1 found in most of them 

 several grains resembling hulled oats, and in 

 one of them was a larva nearly one inch in 

 length, of a pale green color, with a brown head 

 and tapering a little at each end, being different 

 from the cut-worm, but resembling, and per- 

 haps identical with, the spindle-worm, so-called, 

 which burrows into the stem of the corn plant. 

 It would be a curious fact if it should prove that 

 this bird possesses the instinct to detect and 

 destroy two noxious larvas, so different in ap- 

 pearance and habits as those here mentioned. 



Thus docs this shy and unobtrusive little bird 

 perform its humble but useful part in the 

 economy of Nature, and, whilst seeking a sub- 

 sistence for itself and young, unconsciously 

 renders an important service to the husband- 

 man. 



• ♦ • 



A State Entomologist for Wisconsin. — 

 ''The suggestion I have just made may be 

 viewed differently by different members of this 

 Society, but the suggestion I have now to make 

 will, I know, meet with your general approba- 

 tion. AVe have long felt the need of a State 

 Entomologist. As horticulturists we sec and 

 feel the importance and absolute need of such 

 an officer — more so than does any other part of 

 the community. Some of the older States — and, 

 indeed, some of the younger States — have made 

 such appointments. And I trust the time will 

 soon come when our own State will follow their 

 wise example. We are an agricultural people, 

 and as such are afflicted with almost every 

 plant-destroying insect on this side of the con- 

 tinent. And while other countries and States 

 are seeking, with success, for means to diminish 

 or avert the ravages of such plagues, we should 

 not be folding our hands awaiting for something 

 to turn up, but be following the example of our 

 more intelligent neighbors. Therefore, I sug- 

 gest that before you separate you elect, as Ento- 

 mologist to the State Horticultural Society, 

 Professor Daniells, of the Wisconsin State Uni- 

 versity. I venture to make this recommendation 

 simply because the Professor is the best man I 

 know of for the place, and because I know that 

 he will spare no pains to serve the Society and 

 the people." — From President Hobbins's Ad- 

 dress, delivered at the meeting of the Wisconsin 

 State Ilorticultural Society, at Madison, Feb. 

 Ist, 1870. 



HINDRANCES TO SUCCESSFUL FRUIT-GROWING. 



[Friim an Address delivered at the Fourth Aiimiiil Mi-uliii^- dI' 



the Contraliil (Ills.) Frull-Growcrs' Association. 1)\ 



B. Pdllen, tlie retlriug President.] 



We are frequently asked, " have we a fruit 

 country?" meaning, of course, our own imme- 

 diate section. Our answer would be yes, pre- 

 eminently so. How are we to satisfy any one 

 who would ask such a question, with all the 

 facts before him, that our answer is correct? 

 He speaks knowingly of other sections, of im- 

 mense and successive crops, great profits, &c. 

 This is our El Dorado— just what we are look- 

 ing after. We take occasion to inform ourselves, 

 and what do we find? why, the old story, that 

 "distance lends enchantment to the view," and 

 so we return again into our own holes, "wiser 

 if not better men." We might furnish statistics 

 showing the relative value of this as compared 

 with other well-known, longer-established fruit 

 districts, and suffer none by the comparison. 

 We know, of our own knowledge, that in the 

 twelve past years but one entire failure has 

 occurred. This was the summer following the 

 winter of 1864 and 18(35. We were disposed 

 to call that an entire failure, and yet the finest 

 and most profitable crop of strawberries we 

 have ever seen was raised here in the summer 

 of 1865. Do we pronounce an agricultural dis- 

 trict a failure because bountiful crops arc not 

 every year raised, or because of the entire or 

 partial failure of every one of the cereal crops 

 grown there? Of course not. If we did, we 

 should pronounce against one after another until 

 we should have none left. Is it just to pronounce 

 against a fruit region for the same reason? 

 Where, then, is the trouble? There must be a 

 cause for so much complaint and disappointment. 

 Is it not possible that we ourselves have proved 

 failures? We only want to let ourselves down 

 as easy as possible by blaming the country. I 

 make the assertion, without fear ot successful 

 contradiction, that there is not one really suc- 

 cessful Horticulturist in our Centralia fruit dis- 

 trict, and for no other reason than that we 

 ourselves are failures. This is not so much the 

 result of ignorance as it is a criminal neglect on 

 our part to make an enei'getic use of tlie know- 

 ledge we already possess. Tlie damage to the 

 fruit-grower yearly by the depredations of the 

 Curculio and Codling-moth are almost incalcu- 

 lable, sweeping away at times entire crops ; and 

 yet how many run a Curculio-catcher, pick up 

 the fallen fruit, keep swine in their orchards, 

 bandage their trees with a hay-band to afford 

 a shelter and hiding place for the larvie of the 

 Codling-moth to undergo her transformations 



