The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-05-26

anu diners.
We are awakened mornings and de
lighted by the singing of birds, we are
reminded that spring with its beauty
and charm has come again, and that wt
are entering upon another year of toll
pleasure, care and hope.
The birds charm US with their songs
cheer us as we toll and help us in many
ways. The subject of my paper to-
night will be merely upon what birds dc
for us. The practical farmer is very
careful about the help he hires, that his
soil may not be overtaxed and his
horses and cattle nlisused, for no mar
can prosper when his stock is abused
And so he selects with care the man
who is to serve him, whether he is
faithful and trusty whether he is an
early riser or a night bug, then there
Is the price he is to pay. Now men who
desire work for the season for nine
months, but other help comes in flocks
and only ask their board, while they de-
vote their best efforts for the benefit of
the farmer, money is useless to them.
There is, great force in the statement
that the Heavenly Father feedeth them.
That is He has made most abundant
provision for all their needs. The bird $
song seems to say to the farmer, II
have come to work for you this season.
will serve you the best | can, my
wants are few; they are regulated by
my size. I am small, but 1 am active.
] am an early riser I work all hours
from the rising to the setting sun.
work in the sunshine. / work in the
rain. l want place for my nest where
/ can rear my young. I will gather the
food the family requires on your farm.
We can imagine, as we listen to the
birds song, that he says, May I come?
May I come and work for your" What
answer shall we give him? Greet him
with kindness make him feel that he is
welcome, that, if he erects his home
near US we will not disturb him, we will
feed him with the crumbs from our ta-
BILE and he will be satisfied. Then he
will be happy and make US happier by
living near to us.
But will the farmer ask, "How can
this little creature that flies over my
head be a help to me, what benefit shall
I gain from his presence? How shall
be richer at the end Of the year by hav-
ing f1ocks of birds feeding upon my
fields, picking up my grain sampling
my cherries and strawberries. Let us
examine this matter and see if we can
find benefits and also if birds are really
important helpers to the practical far
mer The birds may feed a small part
OF the season upon the fruits we raise
for our tables, but these are not the
staple food of the birds; they are no
doubt luxuries to him, something like
after dinner pie, but the bird wants
something that is more substantial for
the seasons regular diet. And so you
will see the little fellow hunting all
through your trees, all over your fences,
hopping through your shrubs and all
over your meadows and picking up that
which he likes to live upon, generally in
sects. Now we have been learning
within few years much about insects
and the mischief they are doing. They
are like a countless army Of destroyers
in our fields. 1t is most evident that
the bird prefers them to any other kind
of food. The farmer may spray his
trees with poison and kill these pests,
but this takes time and money. He IS
driven With work and at times is short
of money; other things on the farm de-
mand his immediate attention, and the
insects keep UP their work till some
crop is utterly ruined IT was to fur
nish food as a luxury for his table, but
it is too late now. Yet the birds have
been helping all they can, and had there
been more birds they would have de-
stroyed the insects and saved the crop.
We feel from this view of the subject
that the birds are the most important,
the most reliable. the cheapest help the
farmer can have. They are blessing
to the whole community
1t would seem that il birds had not |
been so ruthlessy destroyed few years
ago our farmers would not have to ex-
pend so much time to destroy the in
sects to save their crops. 1t is proved |
that the birds are willing and anxious
to do this work by the analysis of birds |
stomachs in the different months of the |
year, that we may know just what they |
feed upon as the months come and go. |
Many of the birds, as you well know, |
migrate to the south in the autumn, to
return to US in the spring. All of these
birds live largely upon insects that are
80 abundant in the summer with us. | |
'efer here to the robin brown thrasher |
,atbird many of the sparrows, the Bal
.imore oriole wren and many others
hat return to us each season from the
irst of April to the last of May or the
irst of June. Then there are other
birds that may be called seed-eating
birds. Now one of the great troubles on
III our soils in this vicinity is the weeds
hat grow without cultivation; grow, in
act, in spite of cultivation. The far
ner runs his cultivator over his fields,
works. early and late with his hoe and
he weeds grow and each season he
aises a good crop in spite of all his eff
orts to kill off these intruders. Weeds
lain the best soil and take or steal the
'est of the fertilizer away from the
lants the farmer or gardener wishes to
aise. Now while the hoe and the cult
ator do much to eradicate weeds, still
ONE will ever succeed in ripening a |
attitude of seeds to spread and grow
er must have seen that many of the
arden weeds produce an almost incred- |
Die number of seeds.
single plant may produce as many |
S a hundred thousand seeds in a year,
nd if unchecked would produce in the
pring Of the third year ten million
lants. 1t is very fortunate for the
armer that God has produced certain
gents. and given them their work to go