Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-01-08

AS the bird question is OF considerable ,n,or,,
Just now to our citizensw reprodceu the views
OF Prof. c. V. Riley. OF the Department OF Arrt-
culture, as expressed at a meeting Of the Alton
p1'l horticultural Society in 1873. and reported
| In The ST. Louis Globe Democrat The society *
an old and popular one and meets every month.
| put, as rule, It's members take very little stock
| in birds
| Mr.. Riley was not Sentimentallv Hind IN
me laui'S OF some brus, and. PERHAPS the
piGe,lay The crow blackbird, the red-wInl-ei
| blackbird the common robin. The Golden MIN
| the cedar bird, and the king bird deSaryS
! 10 be claSSed among our enemies. though m,t,S
| might be said in favor even OF these But he
| could not allow such wholesale denunciatioO M
| Our little feathered friends as lac had listened
TO. without word in their defence.
THE chinch bug is certainly one OF our worst
| insect enemies, and Yet there Is abundant and
! cumulative testimony that the blithe Little
| quail devour immense numbers OF them. eS-
| pecally when hard pushed in winter. Let
those who are Sheptical examine the Craw OF
this bird. He had reason To believe that the
prairie chickens would also eat these nauSCOuS
bugs. The curculo is a hard customer, and We
must not expect much aid from the birds In
diminishing lis numbers: for the cunning little
hunchbackS in the beetle shape know well how
10 hide, simulate dead objects, aud even deceive
the sharp eyes OF bird; while in the soft grub
state IL takes good care TO leave the fruit. for
transformation. either in the night or on the
under side OF the fruit ~ IL lies ON the gyuuad
But even here there Is good evidence from Sncn
men as j. ". ROBSON and Or. j. p. TTlmb,c.
thar the Baltimore oriole Will deyour ft-tne
former having seen the bird in the act, and the
latter having taken the beetles from lis crop.
The codllug mcth i certainly another OF
our worst fIult IeSlS. and he knew positively
that IL was Gevoured by several BIRDS. and men
toned the black capped tlUmou>e and the
dOwny wOodpecker. So taorOu -hiy do BIRDS
gut its cOcOOnS in our orchards that the pest
would be wen kept down hT them were It nos
for our own carcleSs,leSs in hafboring IL In our
StorCn0GSeS where they cannot reach lt.
- The yellow billed cuckoo dey0urS the
laH;e of the white-marked TuSSocG mJtn-a
serious orchard peet; ana even 50 bld bird "a
ne iing bld has been seen devoUrlng the rose
bug aud the different cabbage worms. The
lent caterpillar Is partially prey cd upon by the
baltimore oIlote' and greeGiiy deyoured by IL"
American cuCkOOS and the ia1 The cs1ker-
worm l. also deVoured by a number OF the dlf-
1cieNt DlrdS. ana among them the blue bird
nus some OF our very worst insect enemies arr,
preyed upon by birds: and who can estimate
now many hundreds CT insects there are which
though not BOW ciaoSed as injurious. would
SOON become 80 were u not Tor the birds. Not
one IN Il thousand OF The worms that hatch on
our vegetation ever lives 10 % through all its
! changes. and he had never been more forrib.y
feinllocd of ;he important part BIRDS MAY in
ueir destruction than the present year in
rearing SIN WORMS. lie hatched thousands OF
tLese out-oI-IcorS on an OSa re orange hedve
tEls SPRING and though SUCH aS were protected
With netting from birds and ot here enemies were
remarkably healthy. and in due time Snru their
coccons- not one OF those feeding without such
protection hNed 10 spinal were deyoured by
birds.
lie admitted that birds sometimes devoured
cur ff-eldS. tie parasitic insects; but so does
man Destroy these also in applying his artificial
remedies against Tic noNiOuS ones. lie asserted
however, That, as a rule, prefaceotiS or cannf-
bal liSectS-thoSe Which are our best friends
Silch as srOuad-beetieS and lady birds are
shielded from the attacks OF birds 10y some pc
cullar attribute. such as pungent odor. etc,
which renders them unpalatable: and that most
parasites were able 10 defend themselves by
their own Stings or other weapons OF ofenSe
anu ceienoe. Thus hundred yegetabe-feederS
were GeYour6d TO one caunlbdi or parasite: and
all things considered birds ale very essential
and important friends OF man. He spoke OF
them as t0G-app0inted guards and protectors
or the vegetal kingdom, carrying and dis
reiSlng It's seeds and ever present 10 clear ID OF
insects that gnaw and destroy. lie gave II as
his conviction that if dozen OF our most COM
mon birds could be swept from existence We
should no longer he able TO grew our principal
crops, and Insects would riot ana multiply until
hey became uncomfortable