The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-11-08

oulstlVe. Clearly, the unsunnressea
e~1cl'enent Of starting on a lone io,r-
nIy perNades their nature. In q little
"h1le they will be gone.
later you may find them in their
mll'eI nome. feeding on the black
SuIh ices IN a Carolina swamp. the
oerr1es of the China tree in Caoreis
" me irult Of the cabbage palmetto
III florlca. But their whole nature
Gems to have suffered change M
cHeerlul notes of sons awaits Won no
gatferlng of food from the grass on
tle laWn, no drinking from the cup on
the W~lndow-sill. none Of the confdtno
lntlmacies SO dea to their frienag ar
the North. We see them in rlocks
"iid and suspicious. Often thew gath
- 10 Ieed on the great pine barrens
TAR from the abode of man. They
gro" lat from much eating. and are
haunted for the table. Recently 7
louna strings Of them in the markets
OF raleigh, and was told they were
worth sixty cents q dozen. the highest
price had ever been asked for them.
hoE1ns IN winter sometimes con-~e-
gate by thousands to roost at 2 fav-
or1Fe spot. and here the hunters often
come to take them, in the manner
Audubon tells us people took the wild
pigeon during the last century,
stories Of their killing creep into the
PUBIC press. and owe their coffee men
marvel at the slaughter of birds that
goes on. sometimes, IN their imme-
diate neiehborhood.
A Tennessee Robin Roost.
Here IS an authentic account Of the
rald1ng OF one such roost, given the
Writer by Or. p P Claxton, of the
University Of Tennessee. He was ia
miliar With many Of the details, ana
will vouch for the truthfulness Of the
facts here set forth. He says: "Tha
roost of which I refer was situated u
what is locally nown ae cedar glade
near F~osterville, Bedford county,
Tennessee. This is a great cedar
country and Robins used to come in
immense numbers during the winter
months. to feed on the berries. BY
the middle Of a winters afternoon.
the birds would begin coming by orr
house in enormous flocks, which
would follow ere another like great
waves moving on in the direction Of
the rocst. They would continue to
pass until night. We lived fifteen
miles from the roost, and it was a
matter Of common observation that
the birds came in this manne from all
quarters.
The spot which the roost occupied
was not unlike numerous others that
might nave been selected. The trees
grew to a height Of from five to thirty
'CA Ill u Il liz StlDdit WEI t H.
orally 1oaded at NIGHT with Robins
Hunting them while they roasted was
a favorite sport. A man would climb
a eda tree with a torch. While his
companions, with poles and clubs
would disturb the sleeping hundreds
| on the adjacent trees. blinded by IT,
light, the suddenly awakened birds
flew to the torch bearer. who, as he
seized each bird. would quickly pull
off it's head. and drop it into a sack
suspended from his shoulder.
The capture of three Or four hun
dred birds was an ordinary nights
work. Men and boys would come in
! wagon from all the ad +oining COUNTIES
and camp near the roOst for the pnr-
pose Of killing Robins Many times
one hundred or more hunters with
torches and c1-bs would be at work
in a single night. For three years
this tremendous slaughter continued
IN the winter, and then the survivors
| deserted the roost."
There are almost the identical meth.
DDS employed in killing untold NUM-
bers of Wild PIGEONS, which is today
probably an extinct bird in America.
The Food.
That protection should be EXTENDED
to the Robin because of its economic
Value as a destroyer of injurious in
sects many observers unite in stating
despite the objection sometimes raised
to his fondnesS. for small fruits, The
United States Department of Agricn1-
ture. which looks so carefully into
various subjects Of vital Importance
to our country. sent Mr.. w. L. McAtee,
q brilliant naturalist. to Louisiana
the past winter, and he made many
ohse rvations on the feedine habits OF
these birds. Under date Of February
20. 1910, he reported:
Il collected twelve Robins near
here Yesterday, and got the foilowina
results from an examination Of their
~gizzards: EIGHT had eaten nothine
but insects, the other four had taken
respectively 95, SO. IS and 0 per cent
of insects and other invertebrates
The insects eaten included grasshop-
pers, fTettix). bucs (Pentatomidae}
beetles (Chrysomelidae. waeyils. bill
bugs and carabids)l. beetle arvae
(wire worms and others), and cater
DilIo~G irc'r6iro c"t worms, A~nfn-
~ aoy 7 COLLECTED three other Robins