Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-11-15
W CANDIDATE IN l9|
APlea tor the lnnocents

Some time since an item in local
paper caught our attention. 1t stated
that there was much complaint
among the farmers of moles destroying
the corn sprouts. A few days before
in neighbours yard we noticed some
sort of a continuance and were at
loss to know what it could be until
upon inquiry we were told that 1t was
a ''mole trap" Now we were always
led to believe that mole was one of
the inofiensive little animals of an in
seetivorious nature, harming no one
and beneftting shrubs and plants by
destroying the worms and insects
that prey on their roots. That is the
idea all natural history scholars have
got of him at any rase, and no doubt
is the correct one. Yet the farmer
wages an incessant war against him
because his corn is destroyed, and
perhaps in the same field he sees mole
run-ways or few hills lifted by them.
In reality the mole is one of the farm
er's best friends, yet like many other
of his little helpers, is sacrificed to the
ignorance and prejudice of the farmer
Another martyr to the farmers ig-
norance is the snake. The snake is
the greatest enemy of the ''tyrants of
the field" mice, rats, gophers, etc.,
who are real mischief makers for
which the mole is punished. OF course
the venemous reptiles should be ex-
terminated, but to kill harmeless
snake is cruel and senseless slaughter
of helpful friend. The law should
open the farmers eyes to this almost
criminal ignorance or superstition, by
imposing fine for the killing of any
but venemous reptiles. There is no
difficulty in knowing the friend and
the enemy. 1t gives fair warning be-
fore striking, and if no alarm is given
none may be felt for only the enemy
gives warning or rattle" Snakes as
a rule are harmless, while as de-
stroyer of seed-destroyin rodents their
value is inestimable.
Another great mistake of farmers is
the keeping of loaded gun for the
killing of every owl or hawk that hap
pens within range. Poultry-stealing
hawks are sometimes an uncomfortable
nuisance and when one of such forms
the habit of living off the poultry
yards the farmer should get rid of it
In any way at hand. But in fact
hawks very rarely attack poultry.
Their legitimate food supply comes
from the fields and hedge rows. They
much prefer mice, rats, squirrels, etc.
to chicken. 1t is only the largest
variety that ever attack the domestic
fowls, the smaller and and very much
the larger of the hawk family confin
ing its hunting grounds wholly to the
fields. Yet because of the occasional
depreciation of some renegade of the
family the whole tribe must suffer.
Surely the pests of the field have
much to thank the farmer for.
And the song birds. What does the
farmer do to encourage these little
helpers to come to his assistance in
tending his vines, grain and corn9 He
buys Johnny an air rifle and brags to
the neighbors about his boys marks
manship. He tells the boys to tear
down all blackbird nests because they
pick off the exposed grains of corn in
the fall before the crop is gathered.
He allows them to rob the nests and
kill such birds as the robin, catbird,
brown thrush and oriole because
they steal cherries, straw berries and
other small fruit. These birds are the
greatest enemy of the insect pests OF
garden and orchard. One day while
sitting near the nest of the common
house wren we counted 81 cabbage
worms brought from the garden
nearby in less than half an hour, and
fed to nest full of young. A day O,
80 later the young birds were killed
and the nest destroyed by cat, one
ola dozen that the farmer encouraged
to stay about his barn and corn crib.
to keep away rats But the rats die
not cease to plague the farmer. The
oats relish the forage from orchard
and garden much better than a raj
diet. A couple of domesticated bull
snakes will do more toward Kidding
q barn of rats and mice than a dozen
oats. Cats are success when it comes
to keeping birds from and orchard
but when it comes to cleaning the
premises of rats they are failure,
The good offices of bumblebee in
the clover field is beginning to be
recognized and in some instances the
boys are forbidden the highly excit
Ing amusement of killing out q
swarm. The bnmblebee with his
fuzzy body and legs is the best Of
carrying mediums for the fertilizing
pollen from one blossom to another.
Without them the clover fields would
be seedless, yet too often still the
boys are allowed to exterminate them,
one more instance of the farmer ig-
noring his best interests. The sue
cessful man must always know and
appreciate his friends and assist them
In their efforts to aid him.
Centralia, Kan. J. L. IRWIN.
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