p-e*-' 2 - 
rrr t"i 
.15 . 
o 
woods which appear in the lumber and later in the manufactured 
articles. These defects are neither small nor likely to be 
passed by, as they seriously affect the market value of the 
timber and even of the finished wood products. Moreover, 
these defects may occur in a large number of trees and be gener¬ 
ally scattered through the wood in regions where conspicuous 
evidences of sapsucker work are lacking. 
The conclusions reached by the Biological Survey regard¬ 
ing hickory especially, are supported by results obtained by oth¬ 
er investigators. For instance, Forest Service Bulletin No. 
80 (p.32) states that the damage by sapsuckers is "very exten¬ 
sive and that an immense amount of wood, perhaps as much as ten 
per cent, of the merchantable material, is left in the woods 
on account of bird peck." This one item means an annual loss 
of $600,000 to owners of hickory, and cannot, therefore, be 
lightly crushed aside as of no special consequence. 
If you are willing to accept the evidence of others 
concerning the damage done by sapsuckers in the regions unvis- 
Cux- 
iteo by you, and hence^admit that the sapsuckers are injurious, 
io would seem to follow that you must endorse measures to pre- 
, ,, , „ . , £r df^rv 
vent the damage so far as it is possible It is probably true 
that a few humming birds may occasionally be destroyed by re¬ 
sorting to the poisoned sap. but this at bo ac t is of no very 
great consequence A as the ^humming bird takes very low rank from 
the economic standpoint. However, were''bonsid.erable number of 
humming birds to be destroyed, the loss would be d.eplorabl <3 and 7 
we should be very glad to know of any practical measures that 
