The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-04-02


with gun or revolver, morning. noon and
night, his wife would not be burdened
with eggs on market day, and spring chick
ems would soon be as scarce as hens
teeth" yet this is the way We as a people.
treat our native birds. Every youngster
from Name to California owns gun of some
description, and every idle hour finds him
wandering among the groves or along the
borders OF the streams, shooting bird or
squirrel without regard 10 variety or season,
simply TO crafty an inherited taste for
| slaughter; then comes the pot hunter. scour-
| ing woods and meadows in quest Of game.
which, when found. falls before his merci-
less gun regardless of season or circum-
stance.
OF course we should not forget that our
destructive instincts are honestly acquired,
for our fathers and grandfathers have only
| just laid down the weapons with which they
| fought their way. step by step. across
! thousand leagues Of wilderness infested by
| hidden foes in the shape of savage beasts
and still more savage men. Is 1t any won
| der the hunters instinct is strong within
1 US? But the time has come when this pas
| sion should be curbed by education and by
wise legislation. That our laws for the
preservation Of game are altogether made
/
have are rarely enforced: in fact we may
as we'll acknowledge that we are a very
| young and rude people: rude from ignorance
! rather than a desire to be coarse, but,
| nevertheless, rude and uncultured TO an ex-
tent that is astonishing to visitors from
| older countries. In England wise laws have
been enacted for the protection of birds and
animals, and the same have been, and are
] to-day, strictly enforced, and this enforce
| ment through generations has had a most
| wholesome effect on the masses. By this
| means they have been taught, first, TO re-
| spect life. and ultimately 10 love and cher
| ism the faithful friends who labor so inces-
sanity and SO successfully to save the crops
| from the insect pests.
SHOULD PROTECT BIRDS
Under proper conditions bird life should
increase rather than diminish with the adj
vance Of culture; every new home planted
/ on the prairies OF the West should be an
other post Of defense, a place OF refuge
| rather than a menace to the feathered in
| habitants, and when as a people come
| to have a proper appreciation OF their value
both i'm a practical and aesthetic sense such
/ VIII be the case. If the farmer who COM
plains OF the raids OF robins or woodpeckers
| on his cherries would plant more trees in
1
where they would I'm no way interfere with
| his interests, he would not only be doing n
| good turn for his truest friends. but would
| save his fruit, add TO the beauty and value
of his estate. and best of all. enjoy the re-
/ ward Of good deed well performed. In
this way he might pay in part the old
standing debt which he honestly owes for
/ the destruction of the millions of noxious in
| SectS hy these tireleSs workers
During recent journey through the wiIds
! of Honduras the writer was struck by the
1 silence OF the forests. Oftentmes we rode
| for leagues through the unbroken wilder
ness, without so much as glimpse of bird
] or beast; the tall trees rose either side
| draped from their SUBMITS with vines OF
| many varieties. some brilliant with flowers
others supporting clusters of fruit, forming
| an ideal home for birds; yet not single
| note was heard, if We except the coarse
| scream of the macaws or the discordant
| clatter of a flock of parrots flying overhead
| Not a songbird in all the solitude; but as we
approached a village where are little
| patches of cultivated grounds with stone
| fence or hedge between, and here and there
the rude dwellings of the natives, mud
walled and palm-thatcned, our ears were de-
| lighted by occasional bird notes, sweet but
| brief. Ii the voice of the sparrow chirp-
ing contentedy and iDterspersing little
snatches of song. Even the disappointed
| gold-hunter revived under the inspiring in
fuence of this music, and the weary mule
teer swore in milder Spanish as he urged his
| tagging beast. As we neared the center of
town the melody increased until. with lit
| tie stretch OF imagination, the traveller
might have found that he was wandering
| May morning. The reason for this condition
is. / think, easily explained. First, the birds
| are never disturbed. but often encour-
| aged by the placing of enticing nesting
places in the vicinity of the house: second,
and equally important, is the supply of food
which is always more abundant in the
towns. The third reason is the protection
| they receive from their natural enemies,
| such as hawks and the smaller depredatory
animals, which instinctively flee from the
| presence of man. Therefore, the writer
| maintains that the love of birds and of ma
| ture, which is now being advocated by so
! many able writer's and earnest teachers,
| WILL in time, remedy the evil and coming
| generation will witness a complete change
of sentiment which cannot fail 10 result IA
| vorably for American birds.
BIRDS IN THE CITY.
| Ii may be interesting and possibly sur
| prising to some TO learn how many varieties
| of song and other birds tarry for a season
/ in our city. Although the writer's observa-
| tions have been desultory and limited TO a
| very small field. in fact. just one-half of a
| city square and this within six blocks of
| the monument he has noted the following
| members of this vivaeious family: The
| robin. blue bird, sapsucker (rare). white
| throated nuthatch, woodpecker (the COM
mon red head. blue jay. sparrow (Ameri-
| cam. Baltimore oriole, wren, brown thrash
| err, cardinal grosbeak (once only, gold
| finch, flicker. catbird. phoebe or pewee,
| humming bird (ruby throat, American
| cuckoo or rain crow and the screech owl.
/ The last named should receive more en-
! couragement for its good work in destroy
| ing the English sparrow For three sue
cessive seasons pair of orioles swung their
| nest in the same tree: We imagined they
were members of the same family, who re-
| turned each season TO the old home, but
| of this we had no conclusive evidence.
! No doubt many other species might have
| been recorded by a close and intelligent
| observer; still, the showing is good when
| we remember that this particular half
| square holds the usual proportion OF small