NEED AND VALUE OF ATTRACTING BIRDS 7 



peach orchard, from which are hung gourds for 

 the martins to nest in. 



Not only may there be freedom from large 

 insect outbreaks and the expense involved in 

 keeping them in check, but under the ordinary 

 conditions, when insects may do only slight dam- 

 age, undoubtedly even this slight amount is less- 

 ened and the quantity of crops harvested corre- 

 spondingly increased, through the activities of 

 the birds. 



There are on record enough instances to show 

 the resulting benefits, when systematic efforts are 

 made to encourage the presence of birds. 



Mr. Forbush cites an instance of four young 

 apple trees which were infested with plant-lice. 

 Two of the trees, which were located near houses 

 containing families of bluebirds and chickadees, 

 were almost entirely cleared of the lice by these 

 birds, while the other two, which were some dis- 

 tance away, finally died from the effect of the 

 pests. 



Evidence of the value of attracting birds also 

 comes from Germany, where systematic experi- 

 ments have been carried out. In the spring of 

 1905 the larvae of a moth attacked a large wood, 

 near Eisenach, and stripped it almost entirely 

 of its foliage; while in a neighboring wood at 

 Seebach, in which nesting-houses had been 



