The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-02-08
That Bird Book.

| ED. FREEMAN:-In last weeks FREE,
MAN you reproduced an editorial squi
! from the FreepoTt Journal entitled How
| TO Get Bird Book, in which the editor
! of that paper in spirit of levity advises
| his ieaders to write to their representa-
| tives to send each of them one, concluding
| by saying we want free bird books for al
or for none
i have never had the pleasure of reading
the bird book, but | heard the author-Dr
Warren-lecture on The Birds of Penn
sylvania" at the farmers institute in Eb-
ensburg on June % last. and judging from
that plea in behalf of the birds, if our rep
reSentatives will vote for an appropriation
sufficient to place a bird book in every
family in Pennsylvania, besides placing 2
them in the schools of the state, l for one
will say We'll done,'' But if the legisla-
ture does not feel justified to do this. wha t
is wrong about having "a smaller number
printed that the seeds of the uSefnl
knowledge the book undoubtedly contains
may be sown in the fruitful soil of the
minds of the pupils of our common schools?
That your readers may be able to judge
intelligently of the qualifications of DR..
Warren to write useful book. / will give
you from memory an outline of his lee
ture.
After describing the numerous list of
birds found i'll our broad commonwealth,
their peculiar traits. habits, etc, the Doc
tor entered a protest against the senseleSS,
cruel practice Of killing for adOrnments
for the headgear of the ladies. Many. if
not all, of the birds thus wantonly deSroy-
ed are insectivorOus, and all of them were
placed on earth by the great Creator for a
wise purpose; hence we work against na
ture when we destroy them, and nature
never cOndones violation of her laws,
aud the retributiOn may be more serious
in its effects than we ever dream of.
The Doctor spoke of the habits of some
of the birds of prey which have been in
judiciOuSly killed under the impression
that we were doing a service ~ the far
mer, the poultry raiser, etc, when the re-
suit proved that we were injurng the in
tereStS we intended to serve. The Doctor
asserted and gave authority fOI
the statement that of all the species of
hawks in the state but two, the hen hawk,
known by its long body and tail, and the
bullet hawk, eat poultry, while the rest
by destroying mice. rabbits, gopfcrS, etc,
are the friends and protectors of the far
mer.
When we consider that a few years ago,
when there was bounty on hawk scalpS,
a careful estimate of the increased damage
done by pests, the hawks had previously
during the period the bounty was on in the
state amounted to S2.OOO,OO0, we can see
the solid sense of the Doctors argument.
One thing more is all that | will trouble
you with by way of extract from the lee
ture. 1t is this: During the time the
bounty was Oh hawks, owls, etc, the COM
misSioneTs of various counties suspected
that frauds were being perpetrated and
sent heads of birds presented as those of
hawks, and out of 20 heads forwarded to
the United States oTnithologist at Wash
ingtOn, ID. c., but two were found to be the
heads of hawks. In the collection were
the heads of chickens, pheaSants, par
tridges, blue jays, the head of a snow bird
and one of a kingtisher.
Had the commissioners of the various
counties had access TO the Bird Book they
could have prevented the preparation of
fraud which aggregated in amount far
greater sum than it is now proposed to de-
vote TO the publication of this book, which
doubtless contains information of inesti-
mable value to the people of the state.
Hoping that you and the editor of the
Journal will give the Bird Book a careful
examination and give your readers the re-
suit of your investigation, l remain, with
much respect, Yours for fair play,