. The bird . ity against the wasps which ruin our fruit. The goldfinch,partial to uncultivated soil and the seeds of the thistle, prevents thelatter from spreading over the ground. Our garden birds, the chaf-finches, blackcaps, blackbirds, tits, strip our fruit-bushes and great treesof the grubs, caterpillars, and beetles, whose ravages would be incal-culable. A large number of these insects remain during winter inthe egg or the larva, waiting for spring to burst into life ; but inthis state they are diKgently hunted up by the mavis, the wren, thetroglodyte. The former turn over the leaves whi
. The bird . ity against the wasps which ruin our fruit. The goldfinch,partial to uncultivated soil and the seeds of the thistle, prevents thelatter from spreading over the ground. Our garden birds, the chaf-finches, blackcaps, blackbirds, tits, strip our fruit-bushes and great treesof the grubs, caterpillars, and beetles, whose ravages would be incal-culable. A large number of these insects remain during winter inthe egg or the larva, waiting for spring to burst into life ; but inthis state they are diKgently hunted up by the mavis, the wren, thetroglodyte. The former turn over the leaves which strew the eaiih ;the latter climb to the loftiest branches, or clear out the trunk. Inwet meadows, you may see the crows and storks boring the ground ■S32 ILLUSTEATIVE NOTES. to seize on the white worm (ver hlanc) which, for three years beforemetamorphosing into a cockchafer, gnaws at the roots of our grasses. Here we pause, not to weary our reader, and yet the list of usefulbirds is scarcely glanced Page 228. The ivooclpecker, as an augur.—Are the methodsof observation adopted by meteorology serious and efficacious ? Somemen of science doubt it. It might, perhaps, be worth while examiningif we could not deduce any part of the meteorology of the ancientsfrom their divination by birds. The principal passages are pointedout in Paulys Encyclopfedia (Stuttgard), article Divinatio. The woodpecker is a favoured bird in the steppes of Poland andRussia. In these sparsely wooded plains he constantly directs hiscourse towards the trees; by following him, you discover a hiddenravine, a little later some springs, and finally descend towards theriver. Under the birds guidance you may thus explore and recon-noitre the country. (Mickiewicz, Les Slaves, vol. i., p. 200.)
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