The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-08-15
Bird on the Farms.
PROF.. ". A. sTEASs.

RRtlEs Va A. EAL<EA@t2e 4
The crow regulates its food from !
necessity. and not from choice. To
hin, strictly grain-feeding, and not
an insect-eaiing bird, corn is his fav-
orite food. Il is not true, as some
have said, that it picks out weavil. |
eaten or imperfect kernels from the
hills He eats all be can, get good or
bad, and though he is also great
seourger, the balance is rather against |
his being beneficial to the farmer.
The robin is an insect-eating bird. 1t
prefers insects in the laryal, pupal,
and adult stage 10 any other food.
Few persons have any idea of the
enormous, the incalculable number Of
insects that robins eat every year.
A young robin in the nest requires
daily supply of food equivalent to con
siderably more than its own weight.
To supply the millions of young birds
Matched each year, this requires an
enormous number of insects. The
service ofthese birds, during the time
they are engaged in rearing their
young alone, would entitle them to
protection were the parents themselves
to feed exclusively upon garden fruits
during the whole period. But at this
time the diet of the old bird is very
largely Of an animal nature; nor is
this the only season during which the
destruction goes on. 1t does no harm
to put scarecrows in your field and
gardens to drive off the robins, but it
hardly pays to kill them. Yet when
killed, they make very delicate eating.
Swallows may generally be found
where there are grain-felds. The
summer range Of these birds includes
nearly all the central portion and the
great grain growing sections of the
West. They sre more or less migra-
tory, and spend their winters in the
South. As pestiferous as the cave
and barn swallows are with their
gatherings, and the annoyance they
give the farmer in various other ways,
they are the natural enemies Of the
midges and similar insects that prey
on grain, and pursue them with I'M
RENTING vigilance. 1t has been
estimated that the nesting Of q single
pair Of swallows will in twenty one
days consume 500, 900 insects. Their
benefit is simply inealculable.
Blue birds have largely superseded
swallows near houses, and protect
fruit trees from insects much better
than the swallows do. The martin is
too lazy to do much good, and has
largely been driven away from Eng
and. The king-bird or bec-martin,
has been voted a terror to bce-keeper.
but it has been found that the i'm
Inense number of insects it destroyed
more than balanced this evil. Again
the king-bird drives away other birds
from fruit trees, and is useful for this
reason. Jfsuitably baited with scraps
of cotton, strings, and other loose
material to complete nest, the king
bird will soon accustom itself to build
ing nand about the orchards, garden,
and even the houses of our farmers,
and thus protect thousands of dollars
worth Of vegetables and fruits. 1t is
strictly an insectiyorOus bird, and
will not destroy, on the whole, that
which conduces to the interests of the
farmea Although the king-bird is
one Of the most valuable species for
agriculturists. The legislation in re-
gard to this bird should be of the
strictkst kind.
Another species doing an immense
amount of good in its own quiet way
is the yellow-billed, as also its ally, |
the black-bllled cuckoo. These birds |
build in apple trees. They are strict
ly insect eaters, while they make |
terrible raids upon the caterpillar. |
They should be encouraged in every |
possible way.
The blue jay does much benefit, but |
so much direct damage that it is al |
most absurd to class him as friend |
to the farmer. The Baltimore oriole |
is very destructive to pea-vines early |
in the season, but he eats class of
insects not touched by other birds
the leaf beetle and the larvae of many |
species Of insects inhabiting the tops
of elm, oak, and apple trees. At the
end Of the season q balance will be
found in the orioles favor. The nut
hatch bird is iminently an insect eater
living largely upon grubs which hide
under the bark ofoak, chestnut, elm,
maple, and other rough-barked trees.
The black tit-mouse, or chickadee, is
ofdirect benefit TO forests by the great
number ofinsect larvae consumed dur
ing the year The woodpeeker
hooks out largey insect, than either
ofthe two preceding kinds, hut can
hardly be said to be an especially val |
liable aid to the farmer. The wrens
are strongly beneficial TO gardens an
plants about the house because of the
number of caterpillarsthey ca. The
fy-catcher are beneficial, and so are
the thrushes, warblers and vireos.