22 



NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 



doubt it ? Their tastes have a wider range than ours. Wax- 

 wings like cedar berries, and crows eat freely the fruit of 

 poison ivy. The close-growing habit of wild bush fruits 

 gives congenial shelter and nesting sites, also, to many of 

 the smaller birds. 



From all the foregoing it should appear that a little study 

 of the natural history of the wild fruits in any locality will 

 reveal much concerning the origin and the environing condi- 

 tions of one of our valuable resources. 



Study 2. Edible Wild Fruits 

 Program — The first part of this 

 study is a comparative examination 

 of the wild fruits of the farm. The 

 fruits. are to be sought in nature, ex- 

 amined carefully one at a time, and 

 their characters are to be written in 

 the columns of a table prepared with 

 headings as indicated in pp. 20 and 

 21. The fruits named in the first 

 column are those commonly found 

 about Ithaca, N. Y., in autumn. 

 Earlier in the season, or in another 

 region, the list would be very different. 



The second part of this study is a comparison of individuals 

 of one kind of wild fruit, such as hawthorns, wild grape, or any 

 other that is abundant, with a view to discovering natural 

 varieties. Half a dozen or more selected trees, bearing 

 number-labels, 1, 2, 3, etc., should have their fruits carefully 

 compared as to (1) quality of flesh (as tested by palatability 

 at this date); (2) proportion of edible pulp (as compared 

 with seeds, skin and other waste) ; (3) earliness; (4) size and 

 form; (5) productiveness; (6) immunity from fungus and 

 insects, as evidenced by the cleanness of the fruit inside and 



Fig. 6. The larvae of three 

 common fruit insects: (a) the 

 plum-curculio; (b) the codling 

 moth; (c) the cherry fruit-fly. 



