300 



The Black Spruce. 



in which these opposing agencies are inefficient or inopera- 

 tive and then these destructive insects multiply rapidly and 

 their ravages become painfully apparent. It is then ne- 

 cessary that man himself should do something to protect 

 his property from these active little foes. It was noticeable 

 that many of the dead trees in the two groves just men- 

 tioned had their bark so chipped by woodpeckers that the 

 general hue of the trunk was a reddish brown instead of 

 the usual grayish brown. Here then is a possible explana- 

 tion^ the cessation of the ravages and the absence of the 

 insects. Here is doubtless the indication of one of nature's 

 antidotes to the mischief. The woodpecker is the natural 

 foe of such insects. With its long beak and barbed tongue 

 it extracts them as a dainty morsel from beneath the bark. 

 It is quite probable that these birds had congregated in 

 these two localities in sufficient numbers to completely 

 stop the ravages of the insects. A few were seen at work 

 on the affected spruces of Speculator mountain, and if not 

 interrupted they will probably in due time succeed in 

 checking the ravages there also. The protection of these 

 birds is to be enumerated among the means to be employed 

 in checking the malady of the spruces. They are the 

 friends of the forest and the allies of man. How insignifi- 

 cant the insect yet how capable of injury. How lightly 

 we esteem the woodpecker yet how indispensable are his 

 services. 



A remedy employed in similar cases in Europe is to cut 

 down the affected trees, strip off their bark and burn it 

 with its destructive tenants. Though it is somewhat 

 doubtful if the owners of large tracts of timber land can 

 be induced to adopt this method of checking the destruc- 

 tion of their spruces, it is certainly to be recommended. 

 The loss from its omission would soon far exceed the cost 

 of its employment, but care should be taken not to engage 

 in this work in a dry time lest the destruction from forest 

 fires should be greater than that from insects. 



