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NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
fruit growers, farmers and gardeners, which I received in answer to a schedule of
questions sent out after consultation with Mr. Cecil Warburton, Zoologist to the
Royal Agricultural Society of England are offered merely as a basis for further
study."
The questions are inquiries as to the birds seen eating slugs,
certain kinds of caterpillars, wireworms, aphis, etc., and on the
other hand, as to the eaters of fruit and grain. The desirability
of looking at the answers as "merely a basis for further study"
becomes evident as we note that the same bird may appear
equally prominent as a devourer of caterpillars and noxious
insects, and of fruit or grain. Thus the starling is mentioned as
a destroyer of slugs and caterpillars, but is said to be also one of
the most serious enemies to fruit.
" One writer referring to the District of Essex between Colchester and Mal-
don, observes:—"Only one bird is dangerous to my crops, that is the starling.
He threatens the utter destruction of our strawbery, raspbery, cherry, gooseberry,
and currant, and some other crops. The birds are said to come to us from the
marshes as soon as the young are hatched, and they come in millions, in flocks
that darken the sky. Their flight is like the roar of the sea, or like a train going
over the arches. Their number increases rapidly each year. I can look back
to the time when there were few, and have watched their increase for forty years
till now it is intolerable.
It is, of course, impossible to mention any bird likely to be,
on the whole, beneficial to the farmer living where it is so ex-
cessively numerous as in this case.
Following Mr. Hooper's article are notes on the Food
Habits of the Black-Headed Gull, from a report lately issued
by the Cumberland County Council, The stomach and gullet
of 100 birds were examined. Their diet was found to be variable,
earthworms and wireworms being common ingredients, and fish
appeared to be seldom eaten.—T.V.H.
INSECTS.
Saperda carcharias.—A few days ago I noticed a leaf on
one of my poplars had a large hole in it, and on turning it over
found an example of this fine Longicorn. Since then, by
regularly searching the trees, I have taken a nice series of the
beetle. Sesia apiformis has for a long time been breeding in my
trees, but its attacks are confined to the lower portions of
the stems and the roots. Last year, however, it became
evident that considerable excavations were being made internally
several feet from the ground, and I wondered whether this was