April 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 23 
being made below this notch, and a shoulder left on 
the scion to rest on the notch, as in crown-grafting. 
Budding the Mistletoe may also be practised in the 
middle of May. Mr. Beaton says it is only a modifi¬ 
cation of grafting, a heel of wood being retained be¬ 
low the bud for insertion. 
Owing to a packet of letters being mis-sent, we re¬ 
gret that several correspondents must remain unan¬ 
swered until next week, who ought to have received 
replies in the present number. 
THE ERUIT-GAKDEN. 
The Depredations of Birds. —We cannot offer 
more seasonable advice than to keep a watchful eye 
on the blossom-buds of fruit-trees in general, more 
especially the cherry-trees; for frequently we have had 
our trees stripped by a host of tomtits and bulfinches. 
Many plans have been proposed and practised ; 
some based on the principle of destroying the birds ; 
some by scaring them away; and others by decoying 
them in another direction. As to their destruction, 
the giui is sometimes put in requisition, but this is 
a dangerous weapon amongst fruit-trees, and must 
be used with great caution; for the wounds occa¬ 
sioned by gun-shot on the stems of fruit-trees are 
very prejudicial, and not unfrequently engender can¬ 
ker. The infliction of such wounds can scarcely be 
avoided, for these birds, when scared by the noise of 
a footstep, generally settle on some fruit-tree or bush. 
Poison has been frequently used for their des¬ 
truction ; this, too, is a course that few like to resort 
to in a garden where the favourite dogs or cats, or 
even the fowls, to say nothing of our own species, 
frequently resort. The tops of garden walls seem 
to present the best battle-field for destroying them ; 
for to these they might be decoyed by daily placing 
there a few radish or any other seeds, of which they are 
fond, in a germinating state, and shooting or entrap¬ 
ping them in this situation. Here, too, the direction 
to shoot cannot possibly lead to accident; for we have 
known a case or two, in our day, in which persons 
have been shot in the face, or otherwise, when 
suddenly turning the corner of a hedge or wall. 
Speaking of traps, the common iron, or, as it is 
usually called, “ steel trap,” is a capital engine of 
destruction, especially to blackbirds and throstles. 
These may be purchased for about nine-pence each; 
and a dozen set on the garden walls, if well attended 
to for one summer, would go far towards the exter¬ 
mination of these fruit-devourers. We must, how¬ 
ever, confess that it is far from being the most 
humane mode of carrying out the object in view, and 
that we have never set an iron trap for birds without 
feeling a secret pain. What, then, is to be done? If 
they were not kept under by various means, there is 
little doubt that they would soon become so abun¬ 
dant as to consume nearly all the food in the 
kingdom. We grow a considerable amount of straw¬ 
berries, and we generally gather at least two bushels 
for preserving purposes; but tins is nothing to 
what the birds destroy. There is little doubt that 
some forty per cent, of all our strawberries and bush 
fruit is consumed annually by the birds, in spite of 
all our precautions. We, however, live (in Cheshire) 
on the edge of a forest where, in the fir plantations, 
the birds breed by thousands; and from which 
plantations they emerge in Hocks as Midsummer 
approaches. 
The best part of the destroying plan is, neverthe" 
less, to keep a vigilant look out after their nests; and 
to offer premiums for their eggs, after the manner of 
wasps. Prevention is, indeed, much “ better than 
cure and this mode we would fain impress on the 
minds of our readers, not as merely the business of 
one season, but to be pursued annually, as the 
seasons come round. Now, this maxim applies to 
the smaller birds, as well as the blackbird and 
thrush. It is all very well to talk of the mellifluous 
notes of the latter birds ; no one enjoys them more 
than we do; nevertheless, a few luscious cherries 
and strawberries, during a burning July sun, are 
equally refreshing to the palate as the liquid notes 
of the blackbird, or the measured and varied notes 
of the throstle. 
Scaring Birds. —Here, again, many plans offer, 
and each, perhaps, possessing its share of merit; the 
adopting either the one or the other, or a combina¬ 
tion, must be entirely ruled by circumstances. In this 
part of the country, the good folks who possess a fine 
May-duke cherry or two, from which they annually 
realize a nice little profit, are in the habit of affixing 
a miniature windmill, the sails of which are some¬ 
times represented by a very warlike looking charac¬ 
ter, who carries a sword in each hand. These are 
brandished to and fro with the utmost dexterity, 
by every puff of wind. Such prove pretty efficient 
for some time, but, like most of the scarecrow family, 
their novelty and their terrors vanish together, and, 
not unfrequently, the powder-flask and shot-bag steps 
in to their assistance. Much the same may be said 
of stuffed figures, of fierce looking personages posted 
in cherry or other trees. We have frequently seen 
birds take up a position on the very shoulders of one 
of these belligerent looking characters. Here, again, 
the gun frequently comes to the rescue. Perhaps 
the best of the scare-away family, after all, are the 
suspended threads of worsted, or string, of certain 
colours, about the object to be preserved. 
Birds, somehow, possess a sort of instinctive dread 
of every thing which looks like an entrapment. 
There seems to be some difference of opinion as to 
the colour of this article ; some say white, others 
contend for red. It is not improbable that a combi¬ 
nation of the two would be most efficient. We can¬ 
not, however, speak conclusively as to this point; 
we have found the white of much service, and the 
whole tiring requires and deserves a much farther 
trial; let us hope that our amateur friends will do 
the public a service by testing and making them 
known. The pages of The Cottage Gardener, at 
least, will always be open to well-attested information 
of the kind. 
Another very old plan belonging to this class, is 
to drive in stakes at an angle of about 45°, and sus¬ 
pend a string from the point, from which dangles 
two pieces of glass, which are so close as to chink 
with every puff of wind. Some persons suspend a 
potato or turnip with a feather or two stuck in, 
making a sort of hobgoblin bird. These we have 
found tolerably efficient over beds of small seeds, 
provided they are not placed until the seeds are just 
emerging from the soil. Another and simple mode 
we may add here, and that is, the laying very branchy 
brushwood over the object to be guarded. This we 
have often tried with small seeds, but its appliance 
to fruit-trees is somewhat difficult. Under the dwarf¬ 
ing system, nevertheless, large boughs, or branches, 
full of spray, might be made to surround the object. 
The last stratagem we will name is what we may 
term the decoying system : this is not in very com- 
