98 
WOODPE< KERS IN RELATION TO TREES. 
mixture) with 1 pint of honey or other thick sirup. Apply to the 
injured tree jusl above the rows of fresh punctures. 
A simpler way of poisoning the sapsuckers was discovered by Mr. 
Ned Dearborn of the Biological Survey. The powdered strychnine 
(alkaloid) was introduced directly into the fresh sap pits, by means 
of a bit of straw or gra>- stem. A very small quantity sufficed for 
each hole, and the poison remained effective for at least two days. 
It should be noted here that humming birds and some other small 
birds, particularly warblers, will be killed by poison intended for 
sapsuckers. Nevertheless, taking all things into consideration, it 
seems wise to recommend the use of poison rather than the gun. 
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 
From an economic standpoint w r oodpeckers may be divided into 
two groups: 
(1) The woodpeckers proper, which are chiefly beneficial. These 
slightly damage trees when excavating nests and shelter cavities. 
In some sections 
they are responsi- 
ble also for injury 
to telephone and 
telegraph poles and 
for minor damage 
to houses, barns, 
fences, and other 
structures. To 
minimize this dam- 
age the trial of 
nesting boxes 
especially designed 
for woodpecker- is 
re c ommend ed . 
Killing the birds 
should be the last resort. When all is said and done, however, wood- 
peckers of this group much more than compensate for all the harm 
they do by devouring large numbers of the insect enemies of tree-, 
many of which are preyed on by no other birds. 
(2) Sapsuckers, which are very injurious. The sapsuckers, unlike 
other woodpeckers, secure a considerable part of their subsistence 
from the tissues and juices of tree-. In doing this they often destroy 
so much of the cambium or growing layer that the trees are weakened 
and disfigured or even killed. Further, the wood of many of the 
trees they attack i- SO stained and distorted during the healing 
process thai ii- value for lumber i- impaired or destroyed. The loss 
Fig. 44.— Red-bellied woodpecker. Not 
Bpot. 
sapsucker. No black breast 
