| Show LITTLE FRUIT TREE DOCTORS instinct which leads them unerringly to locate codling moth or apple borer Is sure and true there are two woodpeckers every farmer ought to know they should be as welcome as the family doctor in time of need tor their visits are al ways paid to the sick unlike the doctor writes E young wead in green s fruit grower they come out being called and they require no ee the doctor can t live on worms the woodpecker can and the bill which he presents Is inserted in the tree and brings out a nice fat juicy grub their surgical instruments are al ways with them always clean sharp and ready tor use and their diagnosis Is always correct they never open a body in the wrong place only to find that the seat of the trouble Is some where else the instinct which leads them unerringly to locate a codling moth or apple borer Is sure and true and though after one of their visits an unsightly wound may be left the health of the tree will be vastly am proved the hairy and the downy woodpeckers are pretty birds common throughout the united states they have breasts downy woodpecker of light gray backs of blue gray with a white streak down the middle barred wings of brown gray and white and a little touch of red on each side of the poll their bills are long strong and sharp and they use them for hammer and chisel their tongues are long and cylindrical terminating m a bard barbed point well fitted to draw out the smallest and wariest worm their legs terminate in tour toes two on each bide which together with their stiff tail feathers give them a remarkable purchase power the hairy woodpecker Is a noisy bird and likes the forest as well as the orchard like some physicians it Is always calling attention to its good deeds by loud cries and rapid flights the downy woodpecker on the other hand Is quiet and unobtrusive so busy with its work that it forgets to advertise and sometimes even forgets to be afraid it Is the smallest bird of its family and may be distinguished from the hairy by its smallness and Us gentle manners the downy woodpecker loves the orchard and Is eminently preeminently pre the farmer s friend and it any man believes the bird Is eating his fruit without due cause let him examine the apple attacked and see if it has not con talked a worm some fruit this bird must have but it prefers wild berries these birds are not fond of travel and in winter they may be found as busily at work as in the warmer months and they are probably more noticed in winter because of the leaf less trees downy is very sociable and when the bird tourists have taken their departure he associates with nu thatches creepers and titmice who ill like to forage over the bark of trees the larvae and pupae of beetles constitute the chief food of these wood beckers peckers pec kers but the birds also consume quantities of weevils we evils ants bugs cater grasshoppers files and other insects more than three fourths of their food being animal E dwight sanderson of the new hampshire agricultural ri experiment station saya the downy woodpecker is the arch enemy of the codling moth and were it not for his good offices in destroying the larvae in winter your crop might frequently be a failure let no man then disregard the counsel of these competent surgeons but rather let him aid in restoring health to the sick tres tor what these trees need and must have Is a bath a good ilme sulphur bath and a thorough drenching fruit trees unless the manure Is well rotted ind fined it should not bo allowed to come in direct contact with the roots of fruit trees but be scattered broadcast road cast over the surface |
