A Result of Non-Spraying of Trees, and Encourage¬ 
ment and Protection of Birds for 
a Good Yield of Fruit. 
[From “The Third Supplement to Gleanings No. 5, The Purple Mar¬ 
tin and Houses for its Summer Home." by J. Warren Jacobs, Waynes- 
burg, Pa., 1911.] 
The good work done by martins for the protection of 
fruit trees can scarcely be estimated. Only the careful ob¬ 
server can appreciate the value of these and other insect-eat¬ 
ing birds. 
In former pamphlets I told of the nature of insect food, 
and of the immense quantities taken by the martins. In 
this brief chapter I wish to describe my success with vines 
and fruit trees, planted partly for ornamentation and partly 
for the fruit they might produce. The existence of these 
trees and vines, and my observations and experience with 
them, are so closely associated with that of my martins and 
other garden nesting birds, that I must take this opportunity 
to show to other city residents what they may expect from a 
proper encouragement of birds. The rural fruit grower,too, 
should bear in mind, that abundance of insect-eating birds 
will protect his growing fruit and save him the annoyance 
and expense of soaking his trees with poisonous liquids, 
which, to be of sufficient strength to exterminate the insects, 
must also affect the birds, either by driving away or killing 
those which feed largely upon these pests. 
On page 22, “Gleanings No. 5, The Purple Martin and 
Houses for Its Summer Home,” under head of “Food” of 
the martins, I mention remain's of small beetles as being left 
in the nest rooms after the young birds take their flight. 
