BIRDS r. GARDENING. 



59 



come and sit on the same branch with me and share the feast as coolly 

 as if they were there by special invitation. Of all nature's checks on 

 insect life the tit family are (among birds) the most effective, and to 

 watch a pair of blue tits when feeding a big family (a dozen or fourteen 

 is not uncommon) is a wonderful lesson ; one would think some good- 

 natured friend had shot a cartload of caterpillars close to their nest, so 

 many do they bring, and so marvellously short is the time occupied in 

 procuring a beakful. It is to be regretted that it discounts its many 

 undoubted services by that most annoying trick of pecking little holes in 

 the stalk end of all our very best Pears in the autumn, spoiling their 

 appearance and inducing premature decay. 



The great tit, too, though equally useful, is often shot by bee-keepers 

 owing to his penchant for bees, which he devours one by one as they 

 appear at the entrance to the hive in answer to his taps on the alighting 

 board. However, in spite of these delinquencies we have no greater 

 friends than the tits, and I always help them through the winter by 

 suspending a few bones and a small net of suet on a temporary gallows 

 as soon as cold weather sets in, taking care that it is commanded by the 

 breakfast-room window, their acrobatic feats as they remove the scraps 

 of meat from the bones being a constant source of amusement. The 

 great, blue, and coal tits are constant visitors, and they are sometimes 

 joined by the shyer marsh tit. 



The song thrush is perhaps the commonest of all our garden visitors, 

 but I have not mentioned it previously, as its tendencies are neutral rather 

 than very active for or against gardening. Its partiality for snails is too 

 well known to need mention, and the favourite stone upon which it cracks 

 their shells is a familiar feature ; but worms appear to form the major 

 part of its dietary, and as these can scarcely be classed as pests I do not 

 think there is any claim on our gratitude in this direction. Strawberries 

 and bush fruits suffer rather heavily from the thrush's attentions, 

 especially in dry seasons ; but the trouble only lasts a short time, and is 

 so fully compensated for by its glorious song that a small investment in 

 herring netting is vastly preferable to the destruction of the best of our 

 common songsters. 



I am afraid my paper is getting too long, or I should like to say a 

 word or two in favour of the owl and kestrel, both common victims of 

 ignorant game preservers ; the first never and the second seldom offends 

 in this direction, and yet we are constantly overrun with mice, which 

 destroy our Crocuses and devour our newly sown seeds before they have 

 a chance to grow because the two birds which live almost entirely upon 

 them are never allowed a fair chance. In closing it is scarcely necessary 

 to recommend the protection of our feathered friends to any intelligent 

 audience, but I may remind you of one of the best methods of encouraging 

 them which has up to the present been much neglected in this country, 

 viz. the placing of nesting boxes up and down the garden and orchard. 

 These are now sold, made out of unbarked wood, so as to have a natural 

 and not too conspicuous appearance, and in various shapes and sizes, 

 from those suitable to starling, to flycatcher, and blue tit. 



My remarks on injurious birds would seem to want their logical con- 

 clusion without some suggestion as to lessening their depredations, but I 



