The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-08-16


Grows, Hawks, and owis-Growth Of
plated
Special Washington Letter.
7 General Rusk--the doughty Wisconsin
Governor who is now Secretary OF the
new Department q Agriculture--is not
member Of the Cabinet for the fun Of
il. On entering upon his duties he took
of his coat and rolled up his sleeves as
he used TO do, and in fact still does, in
haying time, and now. lin the second
year Of his reign. he has got his big
team well In hand, knows all of It's
tricks. and Is making them buckle TO the
best they know.
have spoken OF il as big team, but
1t win be bigger. General Rusk is de-
termined that his Department shall be.
In size and effectiveness, what IL really
Is In importance. and the appropriations
committee seems inclined TO let him have
his way. With larger means at his dis
posal he will organize new bureaus and
add largely TO his skilled force Of ex-
perts, and be ready to consider and solve
all problems which tho farmers of the
United States have TO encounter.
One Of the most interesting as well as
useful divisions of the Department is
that of ORTHODOXY and mammalogy,
presided over by DIR. G. Hart Merriam.
The object OF il is. as farmers are fast
discovering, the study OF the economic
relations Of birds and animals TO agricul-
ture; what birds are beneficial to the
farmer and what injurious; and how
shall the first be protected and the last
destroyed. So, too, regarding animals
such as the skunk. the woodchuck, prai-
RE dogs, and gophers All the farmer
wishes to know Is how to protect his
crops from all sorts of pests and vermin,
whether Of the air or the earth. Already
some of the Western States have paid
out not less than 5000, 900 in bounties for
the determination of gophers. A great
deal of money il now being spent toward
the determination of the English spar
row, against which a ponderous counter
blast or bulletin has been issued by DIR.
Merriam and his assistants, il having
been decided that Passer domesticus is
curse, indeed, and must so. The goou
effects Of this big bulletin against the
sparrow are visible already, and the war
of restriction and determination has be-
gun. Doubtless the gopher bulletins
will accomplish the same results when
they are issued. The section of territory
inhabited by the three species of gophers
is being carefully mapped by DIR. Merri-
am, and will form a valuable and inter-
esting contribution to the study of BIZ
ology.
An elaborate work on hawks and owls
is in course of preparation, which viii
be beautifully illustrated. and at the
same time will point out 10 the farmer
those birds which are wholly beneficial
or harmless; those which do about as
much good as harm, and those which are
noxious or positively harmful. Out of
the 73 different birds of which the work
will treat ii is gratifying to know that
but three of the noxious species are COM
mon i'm the United States.
The crow is to have a volume dedi-
Gated to his habits and goings on, and in
due time the crow blackbird, or purple
grockle, will be treated In the same way.
When this work is done, all the farmer
will have to do will be to get copies of
the various bird bulletins, read them,
and then follow their Instructions He
can thereafter shoot noxious birds at
sight with an enlightened understanding,
and protect those which are beneficial.
Among these are the rose crested gros-
beak and the yellow billed cuckoo, which
have developed an appetite for Colorado
potato beetles and caterpillars. Unfor-
tunately these useful and potato-bug-
eating birds are not very numerous, but
the best can be made of what we have.
Many curious and important facts
about birds are discovered from an ex-
animation OF the contents of their stom-
achs, and TO that end the division has
large and interesting collection Of bird
stomachs from all parts of the country.
The collection now rrmbers not far from
10000 stomachs, each put up In a sepa-
rate vial with alcohol, and labeled.
Nearly 1000 stcmachs were added the
past year. The collection contains the
stomachs Of such birds as sparrows OF all
kinds, warblers, blackbirds. meadow
larks, bobolinls, crows, owls, hawks.
swallows, wrens, bluebirds, robins, king
fishers, woodpeckers. nycatchers, and
many other birds, all of which, in due
time. will be studied by the microscopic,
the botanist, the zoologist, the ornithol-
ogist, etc. ETC., and the results recorded
for the benefit OF the farmer. An exam
nation of the food and habits Of the
marsh hawk. for instance, proves that IL
is very beneficial bird, doing far more
good than harm. and that II should DO
protected by law. The common screech
owl IA proved, by the same means TO BIO