JANUARY 
5 
such as Buprestis, Elater, and Ceramhyx ; — the Sirexes ; 
some of the larger Tipulce^ &C.5 inhabit the wood of trees in 
the larva state ; and pupae of moths, with many perfect 
insects, are often concealed beneath the bark. 
C, — He appears to have some success : for see how he 
renews his exertions : how he scales off the pieces of bark, 
and makes the rotten wood fly about. Ha I there he goes, 
with his harsh laughing cry ; he has alighted on yonder 
dead spruce. He appears to prefer dead trees for his re- 
searches. 
jP. — Yes ; he knows that insects are not to be found in 
sound healthy trees, and they are all that he seeks. His 
instinct, however, discovers the incipient decay long before 
it is manifest to our senses, and eagerly probes for the hidden 
author of the mischief. 
C. — Some of the old apple-trees in the orchard have their 
trunks almost covered with holes ; in as regular rows as they 
could have been drilled by a carpenter. 
F, — Perhaps, at every one of those holes, the useful 
woodpecker dragged forth a grub ; so rendering an essential 
service by keeping down the race of these destructive insects ; 
not by assisting the tree, for I suppose its doom is sealed 
before the bird attacks it. 
C. — How many of the woodpeckers are indigenous ? 
F. — It is probable that nearly all the American species 
are found in Canada. The Gold-winged ( P. Auratus J, the 
Red-headed fP. Frythrocephalus ), the Hairy (P, Villosus J, 
are abundant, and I have seen the noble Pileated ( P. Pile- 
atus J, with his high pointed scarlet cap, and the Downy 
( P. Pubescens J, the smallest of all the woodpeckers. Wil- 
son speaks of P. Varius and P. Carolinus^ also, as inhabit- 
ing Canada. I have likewise seen the Northern three-toed 
Woodpecker ( P. Tridactylus J, so very common in New- 
foundland, known by its bright yellow crown. There are, 
A 
