The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-03-25
Could Not Live
Without Birds



Mankind owes more to the birds of
The field, and the woods, and the air,
cham he does to the fishes of the sea or
fhe domestic cattle of the fields" said
Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson at the Yarbor-
ough House yesterday to a group of gen
tIcmen. among whom was a reporter of
the Farmer and Mechanic.
"AIthough thousands of earth's inhab-
flnts win their living at the fishing
trade. humanity could make shift in
some way should a great plague sudden
}v Kill all the fish. Cattle are of Won
darful use and convenience but the hu-
man race could in a pinch exist without
them If, however, the birds should be
cxtorminated far moro serious state of
affairs than either of the above would
AT once present itself. The average per
son would not perhaps at first glance
recognize the real value of birds to man,
for the reason that while the intrinsic
value Of fishes and cattle is a ap
parent one, the true worth of the feath-
cred tribe is not so generally known.
The birds are the chief enemies of the
and other vegetation, and scientists gen
orally have not hestated to say that
without them insects would rapidly be
come so numerous as to render practi-
caiIy impossible the growing of many
varieties of fruits and vegetable, if in
decd the growth of all vegetation did not
become impossible"
Continuing in his conversati ton, Mr..
Pearson stated the following interesting
facts regarding the value of our native
birds, the rapidity of their destruction.
and what it is proposed to do in North
Carolina for their preservation.
To those who have thought but little
concerning the practical value of birds,
II may not be anliss to say that tneir
economic value to man is a very pro-
nounced reality. This value lies chiefly
in the service they render as destroyers
Of insects which are injurious to Vege-
tation. as consumers of small rodents, a s
de$tTOyers of large quantities of seeds
OF nOXiOus plants, and as ScaVengers.
Birds constitute the chief force IL keep
ing down the surplus number of insects
and which otherwise would be far more
destructive to the agricultural products
Of the country. AS matters now exist,
one-tenth of the entire agricultural pro
fetal loss through their inroads and
We are told that owing to the decreas-
ing number of birds its per cent is an
nually increasing. The work which
birds 90 simply as preventatives is enor-
nous.
The young Of some species eat more
than their own weight of insect food
daily. The adult birds of many kinds
NUosIst chiefly on an insect diet, and
Two thirds of the varieties found in
North Carolina are almost wholly in
~e'tiVerous. Birds digest their food SO
rapidly that it is difficult to estimate
the real amount which they consume. 1t
IS known, however, that a swallow will
'at six or seven hundred lies in a day.
Ihc stomach of a cuckoo, shot at six
clock in the morning, contained TWEEN
tE-thr"e tent caterpillars partly digest
co. The EtOmaChs of chicadees not in
frequently have been found to contain
over two hundred eggs of the canker-
worm and many as twenty five of the
female moths, each holding over one
hundred eggs 1t has been estimated
mat during the one month in which
1h"5g insects infest the trees each chick
s'I'" would destroy over 1900 eggs
boa"tc which | once watched captured
9iA''tn insects during a period of ten
minutes. The bird would dart out & few
f"'da, seize passing insect and return
III once to her lookout perch. When
7'H' holrs later ] again saw the bird, it
Was still busy at it's work.
ne real value Of birds as insect de-
I'F'rS has not been appreciated gener-
'E' one reason for this is their work
h'l apparent to the casual observer.
"' rarely sees bird except when it is
alarmed, and, therefore, is not feedinc
TiirFhc1al observation has been n cause
'' Wuch suffering to birds and a great
|"'u"ary loss on the part of TIE obser-
a.. AS a single example of this the
''@lSIalurc of Pennsylvania in 1855
.'o Scalp Act' for protecting the
"o"''-tjc fowls. The law provided for a
county "f fifty cents each on the heads
All hawks, owls, wcaseIs and ;ninlss
'd within the borders of the State
' state also fixed a fee of fiftv cents
i'i ne notary or Justice taking th. aff
f" I'm each case. During the next
'I ana half 800, 900 was paid in
'"''cN. This accounts for the destruc-
.' ~ l2N,"1 Of the above named crea-
''[' IN" larger per cont of which were
no "hd Owls. DIR. c. Hart Merriam
,-,'"o'oGl"t and mammalogist of the
'~tdl8S Department of Agriculture
, report for 1886, speaking OF the
WI oi this action of the PENNSYLVANIA
TI'Itture says:
'"htIn@ that 1000 chickens are kill
. "'uaily in Pennsylvania by hawks
-. WIS. and that they are worth twep
cents each Ga liberal estimate in
,f % the fact that a large proportion
th, ore Killed when very young),
po,,1.. io9s would be 81 ,25O. and the
in
sn. IN $,Ha5 Hence il appear. that
""''ns the past eighteen ppa,s ppnt,,s 10. ,he
''ate Of Pennsylvania has 1--WE axnendna ,ns