ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS TO THE STATE. 



15 



Mr. Forbush concludes: "At the present time, July 23, 1895, the trees in the 

 orchard appeared to be in good condition. They have not suffered from the slight 

 pruning of their foliage which was effected by the few caterpillars and canker-worms 

 which survived. The fruit is well set and it here remains to be seen whether the 

 birds will have any considerable effect in preventing the ravages of the coddling 

 moth. No other orchard in the neighborhood will produce any fruit this season, 

 with one exception." 



Not the least valuable part of Mr. Forbush's report is his description of the 

 methods employed to make his orchard attractive to birds. We shall return to this 

 later, but such vitally important steps as the leaving of some undergrowth and 

 killing of cats cannot be urged too often. 



The Bird and the Farmer. 



In the growing of field and garden crops, of grains and vegetables, the farmer 

 produces a more artificial state of affairs than that which is occasioned by the fruit- 

 grower, or, at least, the orchardist. The nature of his crops, their frequent tilling, 

 and often early reaping, all combine to make them afford poor nesting-sites, even 

 for such birds as would be likely to select them. To most insectivorous birds, 

 however, areas devoted to farming purposes do not offer suitable nesting places, and 

 it follows, therefore, that where the farmer most needs the services of insect-eating 

 birds there these birds are deprived of surroundings in which they might find 

 shelter and rear their young. 



We shall later see how, to some extent, these conditions may be remedied. In the 

 meantime we may inquire more closely into the relations of the bird and the farmer. 

 Birds are of value on the farm (1) as insect-eaters, (2) as seed-eaters, (3) as mouse 

 or rodent-eaters. Birds are injurious on the farm when they attack the crops, such 

 damage being essentially restricted to corn, rye, and other grains. As in other 

 cases, it is our object to learn what species are beneficial and what injurious, and to 

 determine whether the harm done by certain species at certain seasons is outweighed 

 by the good they do at other seasons. 



The value of birds as insect-eaters is so obvious it will be unnecessary to dwell 

 here on this phase of their relations to agriculture. One instance, however, may be 

 cited in which birds preserved a crop through the destruction of its insect foes. It 

 came under the observation of so excellent an authority as Prof. F. E. L. Beal, of 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture, from whose address before the New Jersey 

 State Horticultural Society I quote as follows: "Field observation and stomach 

 examination both show that the Rose-breasted Grosbeak makes the Colorado potato 



