Show Starling Is Queer Bird Often a Nuisance Its It's in U. U S. S to Stay A 1 JEKYLL AND HYDE of ot th the e bird world is the widely detested de do- tested starling First Introduced introduce from England about 60 OO years ago this bird has bas spread unimpeded over more than two million square miles mlles of North America from New Ne w York City where it was first r re re- e leased It still un Is I. spreading an and d there is no end in sight It already occurs north to Greenland sou south Into Mexico and westward to th the Pacific coast The spread is spas apparently expanding when ever the pressure of starling lation laUon becomes too heavy for th the e birds' birds comfort I I Everywhere the starling has hu gone especially in cities it Is r regarded re re- as a. a nuisance because of ot it its objectionable flocking and roosting habits habit But Dut it seems nearly Immune to most weapons weapon used against it On the other hand it t is in some ome respects respect a highly beneficial species It feeds largely on weevils that are the chief enemy of grass and for tor age ago crops especially crops especially the clover clove r leaf weevil It U is II rf a major en enemy em o of ot f destructive beetles including th the Japanese beetle and the potato beetle It devours devour enormous bers of 01 destructive caterpillars num i It i Is hated as a cherf cherry eater bu but t stomach examinations indicate tha that t in this respect it is fa no worse wone tha than n some ome other birds bird On the whole whale is fa it 11 1 t concluded its lis food habits ar are ar e beneficial to man When raisins and other dried fruits get stale state and hard bard they can be bo freshened and used If it you put them In a strainer and set the strainer with a cover on It over a pot of boiling water for lor about fifteen minutes |