10 THE AUDUBON, S ULL Eta 
Hawthorns as Bird Sanctuaries 
No tree family of 
the northeastern 
United States is more 
interesting, and at the 
same time more con- 
fusing to botanists 
than the many species 
of hawthorn. By rea- 
son of its varied 
forms of foliage, 
fruits, and growth its 
presence is always a 
picturesque addition 
to the landscape. 
Extremely hardy, 
| tolerant of many soils, 
Photo by Orpheus M. Schantz it survives under con- 
HAWTHORNS IN THE PORTAGE TRACT OF THE (ditions that are fatal 
piel gydag cd to less hardy trees. 
Because of the fondness of cattle for the leaves and tender twigs 
the young hawthorns in pasture lands have a hard time growing 
up as they should. The continuous browsing forces them to thick- 
en into dense masses of twigs and thorns. These ‘‘behives” event- 
ually widen out at their bases so that cattle can no longer reach 
the tops, then a leader or perhaps several leaders shoot up and 
soon form a symmetrical top changing the beehive into the hour 
glass or sheaf form. The trees then begin to blossom and fruit. In 
the region around Chicago there are many hawthorn orchards 
sometimes containing a number of species. When the trees have 
not been molested in their youth by cattle, they form the typical 
broad-topped, sturdy tree that is characteristic of the larger 
members of this interesting group. Where they have been re- 
tarded in their growth by cattle, the dense masses of interlaced 
branches with their abundant thorns are ideal nesting sites for 
Catbirds, Sparrows and Thrashers. During the summer time the 
dense foliage completely hides the nests from view, but after the 
leaves fall a visit to a hawthorn orchard or thicket reveals a re- 
markable number of nests proving conclusively their value to the 
birds. The botanical name for the family—Crataegus—comes 
from a Greek word, kratos, meaning strength; the English name 
from the Anglo-Saxon haegthorn, meaning hedgethorn. There 
have been almost or quite one thousand variations discovered by 
botanists among the hawthorns, a very great number of which 
are hybrids and not distinct varieties. There are a few members 
of the family in other portions of the temperate world, but east- 
ern North America is its typical home. The region about Chica- 
go apparently is ideal for its growth and development, as it is 
found in profusion in all our woodlands, sometimes forming or- 
chards of mature trees, in other localities it is the dominant 




