Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-12-26
Birds as Weed Destrovers.


economic value of our native song
birds as resting on their services in
the destruction of troublesome in
sects, but in The Year Book Of Agri-
culture for the year 1898 Professor
Sylvester D. Judd, assistant in biOlogi-
paltrent, points out the services of
some species in destroying innumer-
able seeds of some of our most com
mon weeds.
Some Of the weeds from which these
birds like to pick the seeds, and
which, indeed, form a large part of
their subsistence in winter and fall,
are ragweed, smartweed, bindWeed,
pigweed. lambs quarters, amaranth,
dandeliOn, purslane, knOtweed and
chickweed. Then there are the
cOarser grasses as the sedges, crab
grass, nut grass, pigeon grass and
others that often crowd out better
grasses in fields and the lawns.
While it may be said that good
farming would mean the destruction
of these weeds most Of which are an
nuaIs, IN our cultivated fields. so that
they should not ripen their seed
vt few can do even this. while the
rNadsideS, edges of woodlands, hedge
rows and pastures will produce many
TO perpetuate the pests. And what
a power of perpetuation they have!
Some of the above species are said
n
to single plant while most of them
exceed five thousand or ten thous-
and
The birGs most actively engaged in
this work are the sparrows and
finches, which include more than
twenty species; horned larks, meadow
larks, blackbirds, cowbirds, quail,
grouse, grosbeaks and others. Their
capacity for this work is illustrated
by a few examples.
A crow bIacIbird will eat from
thirty to fifty seeds of smartweed or
bindweed at single meal and a field
sparrow one hundred seeds of crab
grass, and they take several meals
day. In the stomach of a NuttalIs
sparrow were found three hundred
seeds of lambs quarters; a tree
sparrow had eaten seven hundred
seeds of pigeon grass, and a snow
flake in Shrewsbury, Mass, picked up
one thousand seeds of pigweed for
its breakfast.
Goldfnches have been noticed busily
feeding upon the seeds of the Scotch
thistle, the bull thistle, wild sun
flowers, cone flowers, wild lettuce.
prickly lettuce, catnip and MULLEN,
and when killed their stomachs were
found filled with these seeds. Re
member that for at east thTee-fouIths
of the year weed seeds are the princi-
pal food Of most of these varieties.
Very few of them eat much grain even
where it is grown largely. Of
nineteen native birds, including four
varic-Ies of sparrows, Killed IN a
wheat field a few miles south Of
Washington, only two had eaten grain,
and they but a single kernel each,
while five English sparrows were lit
orally gorged with wheat. In fact,
this imported pest is the only one of
our small birds that is known to do
much damage to grain or fruit. ex-
cepting some of the larger species,
which have a liking for cherries and
green peas.
Many Ct these birds that breed in
New England and the Central states
go further south for the winter. while
| others whose homes in summer are
across the Canadian border, may be
| found with us here in winter, busily
at work around hedges and bitches in
| 8eeFirg their favorite food, which
| by the way, seems to vary with the
different species. CuItiva-
| tor.
Fair Play.
Cheat will not turn to wheat under
! any circumstances. It is an entirely
| distinct species of plant and if it were
| true that cheat would turn to wheat
! why should not other species Of plants
! change as well? If it were true thai
| one species turned into another, there
would be no stability to plants or ami
mails. 1t is the infiexible rule of ma
ture that plants and animals breed