THE BLACKBIRD. 145 



even apples and pears suffer much from them : as they are like- 

 wise said to do in the county of Wexford. To the earlier fruits in 

 a friend's garden near Belfast, these birds were so injurious in the 

 summer of 1833, when they were particularly abundant, that he 

 had recourse to the common rat-trap for their destruction. It 

 was baited with currants, cherries, and early peas ; and although 

 exposed to view,* forty of these birds soon fell victims to it, three 

 thrushes at the same time sharing a similar fate. When a cherry 

 and pear were placed on the trap, the former was always preferred. 

 All of these birds but one were caught by the neck, thus proving 

 that they were secured when in the act of pecking at the fruit. 



The large amount of good which the blackbird does, in the de- 

 struction of snails and insects injurious to vegetation, is rarely 

 considered as counterbalancing its frugivorous propensity. Nets 

 to protect the fruit are certainly allowable ; but I should be sorry 

 to bear evil intent against this handsome and lively bird, which 

 renders us essential service, and is, besides, so sweet a songster. 



The whole truth, however, respecting its proceedings, be they 

 good or bad, must be told. On observing some plants in the Bel- 

 fast Botanic Garden in January, 1837, that had been much injured 

 by birds, I learned from the curator, that even in mild weather, 

 he had seen blackbirds tearing up different species of saxifrage ; 

 hardly a fragment remained of plants of Saxifraga pedatifda 

 and 8. trifurcata, though each had formed a round clump at 

 least a yard in diameter. Beside these, a similarly large patch of 

 S. liypnoides appeared untouched; but this species had been 

 attacked in another part of the garden. In the present instance 

 it was uninjured, apparently in consequence of forming a more 

 compact mass, and its green surface foliage was, besides, so dense, 

 that insects, &c, could hardly lodge beneath. Moss, covering 

 the roots of trees here, was likewise much torn away, doubtless in 

 the search for living objects. 



In our mountain glens, I observed, many years ago, during 

 winter, tufts of the rein-deer lichen [Cladonia rangiferina) lying 



* For many species, such as the magpie, hooded crow, &c, the trap requires to be 

 concealed, the bait only being visible. 



VOX. I. L 



