REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I907 17 



measures are inapplicable to an extended forest area because 

 of the enormous expense involved. The exceptional nature of 

 the outbreak justifies the expectation that it will not continue 

 more than two or three years, and such seems to have been the 

 history in earlier attacks. Practically the only thing that can be 

 done is to take advantage of the situation to emphasize the 

 importance of protecting our native birds, and if possible to 

 create a sentiment which will result in a substantial change in 

 the present popular attitude toward these feathered allies. 



The depredations of leaf feeding insects are becoming more 

 severe with advancing years, one of the most striking instances 

 being the widespread injuries inflicted by certain species upon 

 shade trees in our larger cities. The English sparrow, for ex- 

 ample, has driven most of our native birds from the confines of 

 our larger cities and, as a consequence, we have periodic out- 

 breaks by the white marked tussock moth, Hemerocampa 

 leucostigma Abb. & Sm., a species which has in recent 

 years defoliated thousands of trees in New York cities and vil- 

 lages. This insect, prior to the advent of the English sparrow, 

 was regarded as an innocuous or harmless form, and such is its 

 normal status in the country where native birds, particularly 

 those which feed upon hairy caterpillars, are relatively abundant. 

 The recent extended outbreak of the forest tent caterpillar, 

 Malacosoma disstria Hiibn. is another illustration, and 

 the injuries inflicted by this species are probably chargeable, in 

 a large measure, to the great destruction of bird life in recent 

 years. Dr William T. Hornaday of the New York Zoological 

 Society, recently estimated that there has been a decrease of 

 about 48^ in the number of our birds during the past 15 years. 

 These figures, taken in connection with the enormous number 

 of insects devoured by birds, are very- significant. 



Protection and encouragement of birds. The most important 

 step in bird protection, according to E. H. Forbush, Ornitholo- 

 gist of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, is to 

 protect birds about the home and endeavor to increase their 

 numbers. Mr Forbush states that while it may be difficult for 

 the individual to secure a permanent increase of migratory in- 

 sectivorous birds on his farm, he can augment the number and 

 size of the broods reared on his place, and thus increase the 

 summer bird population. It is also possible to double the usual 

 number of winter visitants. He cites the interesting case of 



