The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1871-03-04

honey bee. But Wilson. the Naturalist says
that ''whatsyer antipithy prevails sgainst
him, for depredations on the dronss, or the
bees. lean assure the cultivator this bird 10 y
bis friend; he destroys multitudss Of insects.
whose larva. prey upon the barvests Of his
fields; nox,ous insects on his daily food. He
destroys hundreds Of them daily"
The death ofevery King Bird, is loss 10
The farmer, by multiplying the number Of
noxinus insects, and encouraging The depre-
dations Of Grows, Hawks and Eagles, which
avoid - much possible his immediate Vi
cinitv. As am anxious to have this bird
well known by all Of you, will give you
Wilson's description ofhim. This bird is
little larger than the Cat Bird, the color Of
the upper part is dark bluish-gray, inclin-
ing to dull slate, black on the head, the quill
feathers and secondaries, are brownish. tip
ped with dull white, the tail tipped With
white the chest . grayish.white, becoming
pure en- the throat, and under surface the
bill is black the feet and legs a dull gray.
! The Golden Oriole is beautiful little bird,
he is with US only during the summer sea-
son, he builds purse-like nest to . branch
ofa tall tree, rears his young, feeds largely on
insects. l would like to see them increase.
The Yellow Bird is increasing rapidly
they feed on insects, but do some damage to
turnip seed. if this can be prevented they
may BE- pnt on the useful list.
All our small birds are insect eating birda.
| 81 .,a .~m.nOu>ckIv NJ ne rtfc,,le = haoa6t IN
man, these seek for. and destroy the eggs Of
insects, that would increase in numbers b..
yond the arts of man to extirpate: they know
better than man where to seek for them; and
thus at once satisfy their own appetites, and
render him the most essential service. Buf.
fon says "withont the assistance Of the in
sect eating birds, the efforts Of man woull
fail to destroy or Danish tho cloud of aging
insects BY which we would be assailed; in.
Vulnerable, in quantity, and rapid in genera.
ton, they would invade our dominions, gil
the air ard dev astate the earth, did not tn
birds restore the equilibrium of living natur'
by the destruction of superfuous products.
The greatest Inconvenience of warm eli
mates is the continued torment caused BY
the insect tribes. Man and animals canno
defend themselves against them, they attacl
: with their stinRs; they oppose the progress
r OF cultivation, and destroy the useful product
t of the earth.
Thus We fad the bene6cie Mt birds are no
sufficiently nu numerous in such C climates. HI
asks show is il in our temperate climates. "
are more troubled in the commencement o
Autumn, than in Midsummer Why Il
b tho fine days Of October, do We see the ii
q filed with myrads of gnatsf Because on
s insect vsrous birds haye left us-what the
d must the consequence be, when from th
& time Of their arrival, and during the entir
. Summer, or the whole time Of their sojour
Q amoung ~, W continue to make their de
r struction source of amusement
g The Crow and the Hawk, l do not cultivat,
. protect, nor defend. The Crow 10 . shar
d rogue; he is lover of grubs and worms, An
destroys great numbers of them for food, q
e least when he feeds tho voracious appetites
n his young, from the nests Of our smaller in
l. sect eating birds. his damage cannot be est
n m ated. Some enc has attempted and draw
70 line between his merits and dement's, as 20
+ can see in the U. s. Agricultural report fe
'e 1871, by units, and marks him beneficial
the whole year: 229 units, and injurious 4
y sls units; which he says, proves these bird
n not only worthless, but positively injurious
+ But in conclusion, must Say that OF
1t birds, IS class with few exceptions, are ],
re dispensible in the field, in the garden, and
70 tbe orchard.