GAME AND ITS PEOTECTION. 11 



ful never to invade the high grass or the ripening 

 grain — so also, from his innate love of nature, and of 

 everything that makes nature more beautiful, he 

 spares and defends the warblers of the woods and the 

 innocent worm-devourers that stand guardian over the 

 trees and crops. The smaller birds destroy immense 

 numbers of worms ; cedar-birds have been known 

 to eat hundreds of caterpillars, and in this city- 

 have cleared the public squares in a morning's visit 

 of the disgusting measuring-worms, that were hang- 

 ing by thousands pendent from the branches. And 

 who has not heard the " woodpecker tapping " all 

 day long in pursuit of his prey ? 



With the barbarous and senseless destruction of 

 our small birds, the ravages of the worms have 

 augmented, until we hear from all the densely-set- 

 tled portions of the country loud complaints of their 

 attacks. Peach-trees perish ; cherries are no longer 

 the beautiful fruit they once were ; apples are dis- 

 figured, and plums have almost ceased to exist. 

 Worms appear upon every vegetable thing; the 

 borers dig their way beneath the bark of the trunk 

 and cut long alleys through the wood ; weevils 

 pierce the grain and eat out its pith ; the leaf-eaters 

 of various sorts punch out the delicate membrane by 

 individual effort; or collecting in bodies, throw 

 their nets, like a spider-web, over the branches, and 

 by combined attacks deliberately devour every leaf. 

 While these species are at work openly and in full 

 sight, others are at the roots digging and destroy- 

 ing and multiplying; until the tree that at first 



