The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-05-26
Birds on tho Farm.


necessity, and not from choice. TO him.
strictlya grain-feeding and not an insect.
eating bird, corn is his favOrite diet. It
Is not true, as some have claimed. that
it picks out weevil-eaten or imperfect
kernels from the hills. He eats all he
can got, good or bad, and though he. is
also a great .scOurger, the balance is
rather against his being beneficial to the
farmer. The robin is all insect-eatinp
bird. 1t prefers insects in the laryai
pupal, and adult stage to any other food.
Few persons have any idea of tho enor-
nous, the incalculable nalh,bor of insects
that robins cat every y,slr. A young
robin in the nest requires q daily supply
Of food equivalent to considerable moro
than it's own weight. TO supply the
millions of young birds Matched each
year, this requires an enormous number
of insects. The service Of these birds,
during the time they are engaged in
rearing their young alone, would entitle
them to protection, were the parents
themselves to feed exclusively upon gar
den fruits during the whole period But
at this time the diet of the old birds is
very largely of an animal nature; nor is
this the only season during which the
destruction of insects goes on. 1t does
not harm to put scarecrows in your trees
and gardens to drive off the robins, but
it hardly pays to kill them. Yet when
killed they make very delicate eating.
Swallows may generally be found
where there arc grain-fields. The Sum-
mer range of these birds includes nearly
all the central portion and the great
grain-grOwing sections of the West.
They are more or less migratory, and
spend their Winters in the South. AS
pestiferousast the cave and barn swallows
are with their gatherings, and tho an
noyance they give the farmer in various
other ways, they are natural enemies of
the midges and similar small insects that
prey on grain, and pursue them with un-
remitting vigilance. 1t hus been esti-
mated that the nesting of single pair
Of swallows will in twenty -one days con-
sumo 5U0, 900 insects. Their benefit is
simply incalculable.
Blue-blrds have largely superseded
swallows near houses, and protect fruit
trees from insects much better than the
swallows do. The martin is too lazy to
do much good, and has been largely
driven away from New England. The
King bird, or bee-martin, has been voted
u terror to bee-keepers; but it has been
found that the immense number of in
sects it destroyed more than balanced
this evil. Again, the kng-bird drives
away The other birds from fruit trees.
and is useful for this reason. II suitably
DATED with scraps of cotton, strings,
and loose material to complete nest,
the klng-bird will soon accustom itself
to building in and about the orchards,
gardens, and even the houses Of our far
mers, and thus protect thousands Of dol
lars worth Of vegetables and fruits. 1t
is strictly an insectivorous bird, and
will not destroy, on the whole, that
which conduces to tho interests of the
farmers. Altogether the king-bird is
| one Of the most valuable species for agri-
culturists. The legislation in regard to
this bird should be of the stsactest kind.
Another species doing All immense
amount lof good in its own quiet way
is the yellow-billed, as also it's ally, the
black-billed cuckoo. These birds build
III apple and fruit trees. They are
strictly insect-eating, while they make
terrible raids upon the caterpillar. They
should be encouraged i'll every possible
way.
The blue jay does much benefit, but
so much direct damage that it is almost
absurd to class him as a friend to the
farmers. The Baltimore oriole is very
destructive to pea-vines early in tho
season, but he eats class of insects not
touched by other birds--the leaf beetles
and the larvae of many species Of insects
lnhabiting the tops of elm. oak, and
apple trees. At the end of the season a
balance will be found in the orioles
favor. The nut-hatch is eminently an
insect-eating bird, living largely upon
grubs which hide under the bark Of oak,
chestnut: elm, maple, and other rough
barkea trees The black titmouse, or
chickadee, is Of direct benefit to forests
by the great number of insect larvse con-
sumed during the year. It eats insects
too small for the nut-hatch. The wood
pecker hooks out larger insects than
either OF the two preceding kinds, but
can hardly bo said to be an especially
valuable aid to the farmer.
The wrons are strongly beneficial to
gardens and plants about the houses.
because OF the number of caterpillars
they eat. The fy-catchersa are beneficial,
and SO are the thrushes, warblers, and
virc0s.
The Flgurou yCst.