UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 
sips his apple-tree tipple leisurely. The drain upon 
the vitality of the tree at any one time, by this tap- 
ping, cannot be very serious, but in the course of 
years must certainly affect its vigor considerably. 
I have seen it stated in print, by a writer who evi- 
dently draws upon his fancy for his facts, that in 
making these holes the bird is setting a trap for in- 
sects, and that these are what it feeds upon. But the 
bird is a sapsucker; there are no insects at his wells 
to-day; he visits them very regularly, and is con- 
stantly drilling new ones. 
His mate, or at least a female, comes, and I over- 
hear the two in soft, gentle conversation. When 
I appear upon the scene, the female scurries away 
in alarm, calling as she retreats, as if for the male to 
follow; but he does not. He eyes me for a moment, 
and then sidles round behind the trunk of the tree, 
and as I go back to my table I hear his hammer 
again. Very soon the female is back and I hear their 
conversation going on as before. Day after day the 
male is here tapping the trees. His blows are soft 
and can be heard only a few yards away. He evi- 
dently has his favorites. In this orchard of twenty 
or more trees, only two are worked now, and only 
three have ever been worked much. The two favor- 
ites bear hard, sour fruit. The bark of a sweet apple- 
tree does not show a single hole. A grafted tree 
shows no holes on the original stock, but many 
punctures on the graft. One day I saw the bird 
3 
