1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
19 
•canker worms made 15 per cent; leaf-chafers, 
4 per cent; wire-worms and click-beetles, 
likewise 4 per cent; ants, 3 per cent; and 
snout-beetles, 1 per cent. Predaceous beetles 
(Carabidae) amount to 5 per cent of the whole 
food. From these data it is impossible to 
Avoid the conclusion that the birds were 
greatly hindering the progress of the canker- 
worm in this orchard. 
A brief comparison with data previously 
published by me, will show that it was the 
abundance of the canker worm which at¬ 
tracted them to this orchard in such extra¬ 
ordinary numbers. In the third bulletin of 
the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural His¬ 
tory will be found, among many others, tables 
of the food of the three thrushes mentioned 
in this paper, fifty which had been shot in 
May, in many localities, and in a great variety 
of situations. Only 13 per cent of the food of 
these fifty thrushes, thus taken at random, 
consisted of caterpillars ; while these insects 
made 40 per cent of the food of the same 
species as represented by the birds shot in 
the infested orchard. The difference between 
13 per cent and 40 per cent, measures the de¬ 
gree to which these birds had been diverted 
from their ordinary food by the excessive 
number of canker worms. Further, the blue¬ 
birds reported in the above-mentioned paper 
in the bulletin, had eaten but 13 per cent of 
caterpillars in May, while in the one shot in 
the Tazewell County orchard, canker worms 
composed 60 per cent of the food. Unpub¬ 
lished notes now in my hands relating to the 
food of the black-throated bunting, show that 
caterpillars made but 17'/ 4 per cent of the 
food of thirty-one birds, shot here and there, 
in May and June; while they make 73 per 
cent of the food of the eleven specimens of 
this species reported in this paper. These 
facts can bear but one interpretation—that 
the birds were unconsciously but efficiently 
concentrating themselves upon the labor of 
reducing this injurious excess of an insect 
species to its usual limits. It is difficult to 
estimate the actual number of worms de¬ 
stroyed by the birds during the season, but 
it is evident that they must be reckoned by 
the hundred thousand. 
The number of predaceous beetles eaten by 
a few of the species above mentioned, made 
it a matter of interest to learn what these 
beetles themselves were doing to the worms, 
as it was conceivable that the predaceous 
beetles taken, might, if left undisturbed, have 
destroyed more worms than did the birds 
which ate them. To get what light I could 
upon this matter, I critically studied the con¬ 
tents of the stomachs of twelve of the carniv¬ 
orous beetles collected in the orchard. In 
two of these I found easily recognizable frag¬ 
ments of canker worms ; viz., in one Galerita 
Janus, and in one Harpalus Pensylvanicus. 
The other ten specimens belonged to four 
species —Calosoma calidum,C. scrutator, Sca- 
rites subterraneus, and Checenius diffinis. 
The Scarites contained no food; the other 
species were all feeding upon the same class 
of objects, represented by very minute, irre¬ 
gular fragments of red-brown insect crust. 
There were no appendages or other structures 
in these stomachs to show definitely the 
character of the insects from which these 
fragments had been derived ; and I can only 
surmise from their appearance and from the 
abundance of canker worms in the food of 
the birds taken here, that these were the in¬ 
sects indicated. At any rate, it is certain 
that only two of these twelve beetles had 
eaten canker worms ; and, as nearly as can 
be judged from Mr. Garman’s report of the 
number of predaceous insects in the orchard, 
they were doing relatively little for the des¬ 
truction of the worms. But one parasite of 
the worm was noticed. It is therefore prob¬ 
able that, setting aside the intelligent inter¬ 
ference of man, birds constituted the only im¬ 
portant check afforded by organic nature 
upon the excessive multiplication of the 
canker worm. 
The American Museum of Natural His¬ 
tory.—Forestry. 
But few New Yorkers, and still fewer of 
visitors to the city, seem to be aware that 
there is near Central Park, in fact practically 
on it, one of the finest museums in the world, 
so far as it goes. It is situated on 8th Ave¬ 
nue, near 77th street; and readily reached 
by Elevated Railroad. But one wing of the 
proposed building is yet erected, and this is 
filled with excellent collections, arranged in 
a manner that reflects much credit upon the 
Superintendent, Prof. Bickmore. We are 
glad to announce that the value of the mu¬ 
seum is to be greatly increased by an admir¬ 
able collection of Economic Forestry. This 
collection will include every tree belonging 
to the United States ; the specimens will be 
large, and exhibit the wood in the rough, 
and finished, in a way to show its various 
uses. The products of the trees, and the vari¬ 
ous articles manufactured from them, will 
be included in the collection. As it is im¬ 
portant that the leaves, flowers, and fruit of 
the trees should be shown with the woods, 
and as dried specimens are not satisfactory 
for popular instruction, an original water- 
colored drawing of these portions by an 
artist skilled in this work will be added. 
That this collection is being made under 
the direction of Prof. Chas. S. Sargent, of the 
Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, is 
sufficient assurance of the accuracy and value 
of the work. Good progress has already been 
made, and collectors are still getting speci¬ 
mens in Arizona, California, and other dis¬ 
tant localities. It is safe to assume that this 
collection will have a value beyond that of 
any other of its kind heretofore made. The 
whole expense of this grand enterprise, 
which has already amounted to several thou¬ 
sands of dollars, is borne by Morris K. Jessup, 
Esq., a New York banker, whose liberality 
has been manifested in various other direc¬ 
tions for the public benefit. 
A Home-made Apple Pulper. 
Mr. Geo. L. Rector, Wood Co„ W. Va.. 
makes his own cider, and grinds or pulps the 
apples with a machine shown in figure 1. It 
consists of a log 13 inches in diameter, and 
as long as desired, with a mortise cut in the 
middle as shown in side view in figure 2. The 
upright lever or “ram” fits in this mortise 
and is held in place by a stout pin. There 
should be s / 4 of an inch space between the lever 
and the sides of the 
mortise, for the 
mashed apples to 
fall through into 
the tub placed be¬ 
low. A hopper, 
made of an old tub, 
is fitted upon the 
opposite of the log, 
and around the 
mortise into which the cider apples are pour¬ 
ed. “With such a machine,” Mr. R. writes, 
“ a man can mash six bushels per hour, and 
work at a moderate gait,” 
An Improved Tie for Cattle. 
A friend in Bergen Co., N. J., in building 
a dairy barn for some 40 cows, has given 
much thought to the matter, and introduced 
every improvement that he thought would 
pay. When it came to the matter of fasten¬ 
ing the animals in their stalls, he was much 
averse to the old-fashioned stanchion, and 
IMPROVED CATTLE-TIE. 
while hesitating between this, and the up¬ 
right rod with a sliding ring, to which there 
are also objections, he came across an account 
of the Improved Cattle-tie, recently invented 
by Mr. H. M. Robbins, Newington, Ct. Upon 
inspection of this he at once adopted it, and 
is now most enthusiastic in praise of its excel¬ 
lence as well as its cheapness. The affair is 
so simple that the •wonder is that it had not 
been thought of long before. Each tie con¬ 
sists of an endless chain passing over four 
pullies, two upon the beam overhead, and 
two near the floor of the stall. The chain 
is so arranged that it cannot by any possibil¬ 
ity slip from or be pulled off of the pulleys. 
A short chain passes around the neck of the 
animal and is attached to one of the upright 
portions of the endless chain. The arrange¬ 
ment allows the animal every desirable free¬ 
dom of motion, whether standing, eating, or 
lying down, and while it is enabled to lick all 
parts of its body, it is not able to interfere 
with the neighboring animals. It is claimed 
to be, and appears perfectly safe, not only in 
the sense of security but in the avoidance of 
accidents. However they may be in reality, 
stanchions cannot be so arranged that they 
will not look uncomfortable, and to one who 
loves his animals it is worth something to see 
them in the apparent ease they enjoy here. 
Fig. 2. —INTERIOR VIEW. 
