Evening star., 1947-07-19
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,DeU.
"KALMIA ROAD.

Dear Sir:
Like many other people in Washington and
elsewhere, enjoy your column very much and
never fail to read it even before looking over
the news pages.
1--WE live on the outskirts of Washington
and I have the opportunity to watch birds,
squirrels and even rabbits visiting our own
and adjacent lawn and trees.
II have had the pleasure to identify many
birds that before reading your column were
entirely unknown to me. 1t is also very anus
ing to watch the antics of the lively, clever and
agile squirrels, that So often figure in your
articles, given by you so much sympathy and
consideration.
However, in regard to squirrels am very
much fed up with the frightful damage they
are doing our trees and fruit and would be
very grateful to you for some advice that would
remedy the present very unpleasant situation.
I'VE have several apricot trees and also some
peach and cherry in the rear of our house.
These trees, which were planted by myself and
were given the best care possible, were COW
cred by a mass of fruit. So pleasant to the
eye and more so to the TASTE
But here was where the trouble started.
The squirrels soon discovered the apricots and
made mess of the trees, chewing off some
branches bearing fruit and too light for them
to stand on.
"T11e squirrels are not so much after the
apricots, as the kernel inside. They ate up all
the apricots while they were entirely green and
left the trees stripped of branches.
"Of course, I do realize that the squir-
relS are hungry and eat whatever food they
come across, but this is where my ownership
comes in. My family also likes apricots and
other fruit we are growing in our back yard,
and we raised them for ourselves and not to
feed the whole community of squirrels, who are
just fiocking to our trees from all corners of
the world, it seems to me.
"I don't want tn kill them uhicI, uyo,,1d he
against the law, and also against my nature,
as detest the sports of hunting and fishing
II do have an air rifle shooting small pellets,
which give the squirrels healthy sting but
I can't just spend my time watching for squr-
rels to come in and get sting.
In desperation I bought a 10-month- old
bull terrier dog, and keep him outs,ide. Well,
during the daytime the squirrels keep away
from our back yard, but early in the morning
when the pup is tied up but still close to the
trees, the clever raScals seem to use other
trees close to the apricot trees for jumping
off ground to reach their cherished fruit and
evidently are having good time for themselves
laughing at the dog which can't climb the trees
to reach them.
eve are considering inclosing the apricot
and peach trees in wire mesh cage, but the
undertaking is bit expensive and there seems
to be no other way to protect our fruit trees
from constant damage by the squirrels.
EeIudpS yOG kIlOW VI SOulc way 10 Keep
squirrels from destroying the crop of our fruit
trees? If you do, your advice in this matter
will be greatly appreciated.
Yours very truly, E. E."
The best thing for our harassed correspon-
dent to do is to buy them off.
While this course is not to be recommended
with humans, it often pays dividends with the
birds and four-legged creatures
AS has been pointed out above, the squirrels
are hungry, and delight in fresh fruit, toma-
toes corn, etc. They like mulberries, too, and
many another berry.
If peanuts, sunf1ower seed and other things
they like are put close to the tree, and kept
there day after day, the squirrels may do less
damage to the trees
Notice we say may" One cannot be posi-
tive. There is no telling what squirrel will
do, any more than one may chart the course in
advance OF the average human. This fellow
ship in doubt ought to make us think more of
the squirrels and not feel too disturbed if they
eat the things we would rather they let alone.
After all, they are "only one times one," as
the poet said. These little creatures are
members of the largest mammal family. That
fact must make human beings look at them
with new interest. If we humans are going to
blow ourselves off the face of the earth, in a
sad misuse of our superior intelligence, the
squirrels will survive us, along with the birds,
insects and germs. Then nobody will be angry
at them for eating. Why should we be now,
just few months or years before the grand
huSf-llD?