As to the birds, I have been at sonic pains
to discover which species are the delinquents. The following must be condemned on direct evidence as offenderS, at certain times and seasons, and the list is more or less in order of demerit : bullfinches, sparrows, greenfinches, great tits and blue tits. Perhaps hawfinches are the worst of alt on rare occasions ; but they arc not a common bird in gardens, and only now and then do they condescend to buds. In my garden sparrows are much the most destructive, both to plum buds and to gooseberry buds. Only once did I see chaffinches follow suit, and on that desperate occasion they virtually cleared two trees—and that in a research station !—so that it was feared (without justifi- cation) that the trees- would be killed. On small fruit the sprays I have suggested repel till bud-eating species.
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