Evening star., 1946-02-09
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,Dell.

Dear Sir:
"I read your This and That column
every day with great interest and en-
joyment and want to tell you about my
birds.
II live in small village, have large
lawn and a number of trees. and even
though I love pet cats my lawn is "a reg
ular bird sanctuary.
THE day before our last snow count
ed on my gravel walk is cardinals G'm
sure the 10Th must have been nearby,
four bluejays, and faithful old mocking-
bird, and dozens of small birds, among
them beautiful little gray birds with
crested heads.
During bad weather always feed the
birds. ALI are welcome, and this winter
two crows have been added to my bird
family, but they come only when there
is snow or sleet on the ground.
What I'm wondering is. why, with
such a severe winter as We have had
the birds have not touched the berries
on the barberry bushes. These bushes
are full of these bright red berries and
the seeds are small
II have always thought the birds were
fond of them, especially the cardinals
Can you explain this? With best wishes
from bird and cat lover, B. T."
The common barberry (do we have to
call it japanese barberry still?) is IA
vorite bush of many birds.
Song sparrows love it to nest in, and
eat the berries.
Other species which eat the red ber-
ries at times are the mockingbird, the
cardinal. the robin, and the wood thrush.
1t is not as popular food as one
might think, however. The fruits Of the
dogwood trees are much more relished,
especially by the Knockers.
AS a hedge the barberry has many
uses, not the least Of which is to give
sanctuary to the song sparrows and their
young.
Yet many householders have pre-
ferred the California privet, which also
makes a nice hedge, but which kills out
in very severe weather.
We have yet to see the winter which
can kill the barberry, at least around
here About 10 years ago practically
every privet hedge in nearby Maryland
was killed by some unusually inclement
winter weather, but the barberries, both
the common sort and the red-leaved
variety stood up nobly, and came
through the storms unscathed.
In these two, the privet and barberry,
the suburban home owner has fine ma
terial for hedges. Usually he has made
the most of It,
For time there was we'll defined
movement in articles and books about
home gardening to sneer at these two
faithful hedgings. In recent years COM
mon sense has prevailed. Most house
holders realize that for the money
there is nothing that can outdo them.
The barberry has fine stickers, and
these at times have their uses, in re-
pelling unwanted persons.
But the best thing about this plant is
its tendency to be evergreen. The bush
never grows ragged and faded, but keeps
right on showing some color at all times.
The red berries are very ornamental,
more so some years than Others
Birds do eat them, but they cannot be
said to be great favorites, if any other
food can be found.
We notice that in one very long list
of trees, shrubs and vines liked by song
birds, the barberry is not mentioned
We think this an error, since the bush
would be worthwhile for every bird
lovers yard If for no other reason than
because the beautiful song sparrows
like 1t.
It's prickly character gives the nest
far greater safety than most shrubs and
bushes. The cardinals would do better if
they selected it more for their nests
The only explanation for birds not
eating the berries of the barberry is
that there was other food in the neigh
borhood more to their liking.