The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1903-06-24
PLUNKEPT.

kllllng them Tor their plumage and
quite as cruel
Country young folks do not des.
troy birds nests. but the boys of
the city and small towns are rowing
vandals after eggs and have no
thought of the damage or the cru
city of their acts. Some of these
boys collect the eggs as fad, but
many of them wantonly tear up the
nests, break the eggs and kill the
old birds if they possibly can.
met squad of seven Atlanta boys
yesterday and they had among
them eleven nests, some still cling
ing to the twigs with eggs in them.
while some were just the bare nests
but representing the labor of many
days of the mother birds. Boys
not so hardened as to break eggs
will think nothing of appropriat
ing an empty nest, not quite finish
ed, perhaps without a thought of
labor it costs the mother bird nor
of how bad she might feel when
she returns to find her nest gone
and her work all lost. 1t is part
of motherhood, either birds or hu-
man, to joyfully anticipate the
coming of their young, and mother
bird or mother human prepare for
this coming with a heart 50 full of
love and consideration that it is
cruel and a sin TO destroy their
work or blast the charm of mother
hope. It is very sweet period of
the human mother to work upon
and pack away the long flannel
skirts, the little shirts, the pretty
dresses and little caps that her
babe is to wear, and SO, / think it
is a sweet period in the life of the
mother bird when she begins her
nest and industriously carries it
through with such consideration
to the comforts of the young birds
that only a mothers heart could
understand
One of these nests proved to be
a mocking bird and there were two
eggs in it and the boys had the
mother bird which they had killed
in the hunt 1 am no great admir-
ar of some of the traits of the male
mocking bird. but all the way
home / could not help but contem
plate the feelings of this bird when
he found that his mate and the
nests were gone. That these birds
have affections is we'll known, for
the male bird never sings again
and never takes another mate, while
the mother bird will so grieve over
the loss of her young that she will
poison them if they are Gagged and
put where she can get TO them
Outside of all feeling that is due
these birds fer the loss that they
surtain. it is supremely politic that
these eggs and nests should not be
destroyed II the destruction of
birds is not stopped this govern
ment will soon have to support an
expensive department to keep down
the ravages of insects. 1t is already
not beneath the dignity of some of
our ablest men and greatest stu.
dents to give their talents to the
study of destroying insects that
birds would destroy if we only had
the birds.
Snakes destroy birds aud eggs,
too. 1 mention this because / think
no boy would like to do such
things as snake is given to doing
and for the other reason that de-
sire to relate whst time Brown
had this morning with a snake up
a tree. 1t is not every snake that
can climb tree. but all of the boa.
constructor species can. and among
these are some very large and vi
cious looking black snakes. The
truth is, there is not bit of harm
from poison of any snake that car
climb a tree, but Brown just natur
ally hates all snakes and if they
don't get out of his way he will ge
out theirs But this time the snak,
was up tree robbing birds nest
when Brown decided to climb tn,
same tree to discover the size of
hollow where he had located
swarm of bees. When Brown wen
up the snake wanted to come dowI
and it was coming too. but the OLE