BIRDS 



12S 



bered against them. Some one sees a sapsucker bleeding an 

 apple tree, and perhaps injuring a limb. Immediately the 

 orchardist places the bird upon the harmful list and makes 

 war upon it, forgetting the good this bird does in ridding 

 his fruit trees of harmful 

 borers, beetles, plant hce, 

 etc. Teach the children 

 to suspend judgment on 

 the birds, and not to con- 

 demn them immediately 

 as unmitigated pests. If 

 a cedarbird takes a little 

 fruit, it does still more 

 good by destroying nox- 

 ious insects. Let the fruit 

 taken be considered part 

 payment for the good 

 done. The economic im- 

 portance of the birds can 

 only be determined by 

 averaging the good and 

 the harm they do. This 

 is found out by a care- 

 ful study of the feeding 

 habits of the birds. In- 

 vestigators of the United States Department of Agriculture and 

 others, such as Beal, Judd, Forbes, Fisher, Weed, Dearborn, 

 etc., have shot many thousands of birds of different species 

 in different seasons and have examined the contents of their 

 stomachs. From such observations we are able to say more 

 accurately whether a bird is on the whole useful or harmful. 



Fig. 24. Apple Tree Showing Good Work of 

 Woodpeckers Hunting for Borers. 



