Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-04-10
The Sap-sucking woodpecker.


peculiar jerking flight of the wood
pecker family, fits from tree to tree
! II you watch him you will find tha,
ne is the fellow that makes those pc.
cuiiar rows or rings of holes around
the trunks of so many trees, birches.
mrs. pines, tho apple. and some other
species. This bird is what is COM
monty called the yellow. bellied
woodpecker-small, but dreadfully
destructive. Upon trees of medium
size he will make belts of holes
around the trunk, close together lat
orally, and about an inch apart per.
pendicularly. One of them will thus
girdle many trees in day, and
though the tree so attacked does not
usually die, it Is SO greatly injured,
especially the apple, as to be prac,i-
cally valueless as q fruit-producer.
What these holes are made for has
been question with many. The
ornithologists, true to their posses
sions and advocacy Of the right of
anything with feathers Especially
pretty fsathers) to 1.-Two &C any and
every body's expense, have maintain.
ed that these creatures were after
insects eggs ia the bark. Ii this is
so, they must get them all, for no
insect makes It's appearance or does
damage in such regular form az these
holes show the eggs to have been
deposited Nor does il seem likelv
that any insect with such peculiar
way OF laying its eggs would attack
both evergreens and deciduoas trees
alike. We have asked ornitholocists
repeatedly if they had ever iden tiGed
the inject, or found the eggs. Mono
could say that they had. They 10.
ferred that the eggs were there, be.
cause the holes were there, made by
the bird. But the country BOYS are
pretty close observers of the doings
OF wild creatures, and it is they who
liked upon this species the name of
"sap-sucker." We believe the boys
are right. We have shot a few of
them (the birds, not the boys) and
one thing we know-that they have
not the peculiar barbed tongue OF
the true ,oood-peckers-the tongue
with which they draw ont insects
from holes in the trees they visit.
We think they are not Uood.peckers
at all they are bark-peckers; and
80 far as we know they never attack
any but living trees, while the genu-
inc woodpecker hammers away
mostly, If not entirely, upon dead
ones. A writer in the Springfield
republican says O. this sap.sucking
fellow:
"To cay this is the most destruct.
i've bird in our climate, will no doubt
surprise quite number of people.
| have seen scores eot white birch
trees six to ten inches in diameter
girdled by belt of small holes
through the outer and inner bark.
not touching the wood, the tree
above dead and broken off at that
point. have seen second belt a
few feet below the first. and as be.
fore all was dead and rotting above
it. l have seen those bolts repeated
at intervals down to the ground and
tree twenty inches 10 diameter
dead TO the roots. have seen the
yellow birch destroyed 10 TIE same
way by perforated patches. rather
than by girdliug the entire trunk
and l have seen q Southern pine
wounded beyond recovery in the
same way. l have seen .he finest
trees in young orchard destroyed
by tbeso posts. The trees, ie not
killed outright. wero so badly iniur.
ed that only few knurly, worthless
appIes ever grew afterward, and &
tew days since my attention was
called to an apple.tree loaded with
fruit, except large girdled branch
dry and worthless. [ have watched
their operations for hours and shot
half dozen from the same tree.
thereby saving beautiful orchard
from utter destruction. They dip
their bills in one hole, then another,
and another, tapping out the juices
deposited, and if one is q little dry
they irritate the pulp of the new
wood literally and the wound bleeds
afresh. The assumption that they
seek 10 this way worms or insects is
abont as far from probability as ono
could be mado. They never attack a
dead or dying tree. They strike
only at the young healthy, smooth
bark, and invariably just below the
first branches on tho trunk, or Just
below where branches SEPARATE
above it, Whether this is the result
of sound philosophy in their educa-
ton we cannot say, but IN our own
it is so. since 10 knotiy portions of
wood the capillary ;nbes are crooked
and contracted; cons, qnen.ly the
sap ia retarded in its progress up
ward and rushes more freely to an
opening ia the side | brought down
from upper New Hampshire and
Vermont sections of trees DESTROYED
by these birds, to demonstrate their
work. Tue missions in the speci-
mems are enlarged late,a,ly and ap.
proach each other until sap ceases to
flow between them, hen q new belt
Is projected or new subject sought.
We think the character OF the bird
"a a sap-sueker fully established"
-.
E,c uordoo< O., cSor