36 WOODPECKERS IN RELATION TO TREES. 



seen an elm tree 18 inches in diameter whose trunk of 12 feet was 

 spotted with 'gimlet holes' in the bark nearly 1 inch thick, and where 

 for 10 summers past I have shot the pests and thereby saved the 

 tree." A white elm in the Smithsonian grounds is much disfigured 

 by sapsucker girdles and one near Scotts Run, Fairfax County, Va., 

 bears more conspicuous work of the same character, some of the girdles 

 being 3 feet long and gaping as much as 3 inches (PI. VII, fig. 2). 

 Specimens examined show that the tree is attacked in West Vir- 

 ginia (H.), Illinois, and in Butler County, Mo. (F. 26445 and 73249, 

 respectively) . 



Slippery elm ( Ulmus fulva). — Specimens examined show that this 

 species is attacked by sapsuckers in Missouri (A. M. 278) and West 

 Virginia (H.). Sapsucker work was noted on slippery elms near 

 Abbeville, La., and trees seen near Longbridge, La., were covered 

 with rows of punctures, some of which had swollen into projecting 

 girdles. 



English elm ( Ulmus campestris) and Scotch elm ( Ulmus mon- 

 tana). — In the Agricultural Department grounds are 31 elms, 9 of 

 which are marked b}" sapsuckers. Some are profusely punctured and 

 both of the European species, as well as the American elm, are 

 attacked. 



Water elm (Planera aquatica). — Arkansas (A. A. and A. M. 275). 



Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) . — Iron County, Mo. (F. 72268); 

 Allenton, Mo. (A. M. 273). 



Hackberry (Celtis mississippieTisis) . — Sapsucker pecking is very 

 abundant on trees of this species in the vicinity of Cottonport and 

 Longbridge, La. A peculiar effect of sapsucker work on this tree 

 is that rings of bark are often formed about the punctures. They 

 may be half an inch in height, and as they are round and open, a 

 cluster of them on the gray bark forms a model in miniature of a 

 colony of cliff swallows' nests. 



THE FOUR O'CLOCK FAMILY (NYCTAGINACE,E). 



The single arborescent species in our flora is attached by sap- 

 suckers. 



Blolly (To?Tubia longifolia). — Florida Keys (A. M. 264). 



THE MAGNOLIAS AND TULIP TREES (mAGNOLIACE^e). 



Six of the 8 native magnolias, 3 introduced species, and the single 

 native species of tulip trees are distinct favorites of the birds. Of 22 

 magnolias on the Department of Agriculture grounds half have been 

 pecked. The resulting girdles in the smooth, ashy gray bark of some 

 of the species are unsightly, and one of the trees, a bull bay. is much 

 roughened and distorted. The tulip tree is attacked throughout its 



