BIRDS OF NEW YORK 533 



a serious ofEense. The next count which has been made against the Robin 

 is his unquestioned destruction of great numbers of earthworms which 

 are usually considered among the agriculturist's best friends, for they are 

 continually loosening the earth and bringing up the subsoil and depositing 

 it on the surface, thereby returning many soluble minerals from deep down 

 to the surface again, and carrying down bits of vegetable mould, so that 

 they are to be regarded as among the most efficient soil makers and pre- 

 servers of the fertility and looseness of the ground. The same argument 

 can be made in regard to the Robin's destruction of earthworms, that it 

 is necessary to have the surplus individuals removed in order to keep up 

 the vitality of the race, and undoubtedly this is a potent argument, as 

 has been shown by British ornithologists in discussing the relationship 

 of falcons to the game coverts of England. Where no birds of prey are 

 present to remove the weaker individuals the race gradually loses its stamina. 

 The third, and probably the most serious count against the Robin in the 

 eyes of New York agriculturists is his inordinate appetite for ripe cherries, 

 and this is a serious offense from the standpoint of the small fruit grower 

 or of the farmer who has a few cherry trees planted for his own use. I have 

 seen robins clear as many as a dozen cherry trees so effectively, as fast- 

 as the cherries turned ripe, that the owner was obliged to content himself 

 in the end with 6 or 8 quarts of fruit from the dozen trees. There is scarcely 

 any effective way of driving robins from these cherry trees. I have 

 myself attempted to discover some means of protecting the crop, but even 

 if one remains in the tree with a stick or flag, waving it to drive the birds 

 away, they will continue to come and carry off the fruit in spite of one's 

 endeavors. Even the shotgun will not frighten them away; they must 

 be killed in order to save the crop. Many have suggested that trees of 

 early fruit be planted in the neighborhood to attract the robins from the 

 cherry trees and this has been found effective in many cases, but the mul- 

 berries which have been advised for this purpose, do not ripen early enough, 

 and the author believes that a few early cherries furnish the best food for 

 the purpose. About the only native fruit tree which comes early enough 



