The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-06-16

We have had occasion to touch upon
the subject of the enemies of the farm
ers, more particularly with respect to
the apple crop and the orchard; and
while there are among US those who are
reluctant to admit that the farmer has
. single friend whose mission seems to
be to watch over his growing crop, and
preserve him from bankruptcy which
stares him in the face, despite the out
rageous abuse of that superior reason
ing power which places him above the
brute creation, yet when we consider
the unlimited means within the reach
of every human being gifted with ordi-
nary sense, and the utter contempt for
every law which nature enacts, the dis
regard for every kind and noble deed
which her little ones are daily shower
ing into our humble but undeserving
laps, what excuse has that ti)ler of the
soil to otter when, in the face of the
plainest teachings of q higher power,
the daily examples of an advise Prov
idence. we should smite the very hand
that deals out our simple substancee
And here we are again face to face
with that unsavory ubject-book-farm
ing; for it is claimed by the average
farmer that these are subjects which
are only learned in print; that they are
of tritiing interest to the cultivator of
the soil; that all insect life and all the
feathered tribes which harbor in the
fields and follow in the wake of civil
ization, come for the sole purpose of
obtaining subsistence at his expense,
and that they are to be considered as q
common enemy.
1t is no uncommon occurrence to see
farmers boys pouring kerosene oil
upon the mounds of the large red and
black ant for the purpose of roasting
out the vermin. Oh! what fun it is to
see them squirm! Watch these toilers
of the sod-these searching scavengers
OF natures garb; look at the steady
tramp of this army of insect-destroyers,
as they pass to and fro over the trunks
of our fruit trees, bearing away as
prize, not the luscious fruit which it is
charged with encroaching upon, but
the fruit-destroyer itself. Yes, these
little sentinels, these ever-watchful
friends of the farmer, have come not
to destroy but to protect. SO far as
their limited means permit, the feebly
growing crop which struggles on
against such heavy odds, which want
of ordinary foresight, and total lack
of horse sense on the part of the own
er, of what once promised to be q
healthy and remunerative orchard re-
veals. Yet what does all this amount
to? this is book farmin'; bring on. the
kerosene, boys, and we'll teach these
cherry thieves lesson! Well show
'em a trick worth two of this ERE book
farmin'.
We leave the orchard for the present,
and make brief visit to the old barn.
Here are a couple of boys knocking
down the nests of the barn swallow, or
swift, one of the most precious of the
farmers friends. Under the welcome,
beaten structure many colony of these
insect-gatherers have reared their pro-
geny to continue their ever useful
mission of keeping in check the count
less myriads of insect enemies. Here
around this homely old castle they
cleave the quiet air, guided by hand
that deals out such good and perfect
gifts as nature freely lavishes upon the
threshold of mans thankless pathway.
We inquire of these noble specimens of
public school instructiveness, Why seek
to destroy the nests, and break up the
homes of these innocent little creatures?
"Oh, they are lousy! They are full of
bed-bugs! We don't want them around!
We like birds well enough, but this amt
our sort. They can't sing, nor do they
fly into the trees like other birds and
catch worms; nor go to the ground and
pick up grubs and the like. All they
do is to make q muss about the barn and
spend their time flying about"
This is good reasonsing to the aver
age farmer who never reads the weekly
press, nor devotes his leisure moments.
while incoming, to the study of nature
in its bearing upon the well being of
mankind in general. Yet that man is
happy in his ignorance; he occupies
position of unconscious bliss, 80 long as
he can squirt the dye-stuff from cheek
full of Virginia plug, or find eternal
consolation in the contents of the
"little brown Jug" His boys are each
provided with gun to kill gophers.
Aye! all very we'll, but do they confine
themselves to these little thieves of the
harvest field? By no means. Follow
us, and we will show you how they kill
gophers: Here is boy with a gun,
coming toward the orchard; we inquire
concerning his success: ''Gophers is kind
O. skurse to-day" is the response. ''Got
enough prairie snipe though to make
the thing level. Well have fry Off n
these long-legged critters any wayr' At
this juncture large flock of black birds
came swooping down into the orchard
and went busily at work at the canker
worms and tent caterpillars which had
almost sole possession of the field. A
detachment flew into tree close at
hand, when bang! bang! went both the
barrels into the small squad, and pell-
NELL goes the entire Gordon of insect
searchers for more hospitable neigh
borhoods.
Now let us examine into the result of
this farmer boys trip after gopher.
Four upland plover, properly known as
''Bartram's sandpiper," three meadow
larks, three robins, and couple of
black birds, complete the list of gophers
killed on that trip. And what is the
consequence In the first place, these
birds are all of the migratory class; on
their return from the south they return
to these old frequented spots to pass
the season of incubation. Each sue
ceeding year finds the same pairs of
birds, ii undisturbed, who instinctively
visit their summer abode to rear their
young and reduce the increasing num-
beers of the farmers real enemies.
Friends they are in every sense; and if
any living creature upon that enclosure
deserves the strong arm of protection,
these little ones come to the front with
the priority of right. Sheep and hogs
we can buy. and their numbers can be
multiplied in a ratio dependent upon
the supply of food and attention given
to their comfort. But our birds, these
dear little companions of the weary
tillers of the soil, who follow for hours
in the freshly-turned furrow, eagerly
devouring the grubs and cut-worms,
God forbid it! will soon be numbered
among the extinct, such is the multiple
cation in the use of firearms and
the facilities for their more rapid de-
struction.-Cor. Chicago Times.