The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-11-30
THE MEATQW LARK
A Bird that the Farmers Evesywh.re
Ought to Project.

Ought to Protect.
The pecp'e whose homes are am 3ng
the green fields need 10 one to tell
them OF the aesthetic value Of the
meadowlark. 1t is probable that there
are few birds as valuable to the farm.
Ell as the meadowlark as it IS entirely
terrestrial in it's habits, procuring al :
most its entire f@oa suppl from insect
life harmful to meadows and prasre
lands. TIE meadoWlark is found In
Minnesota, Iowa, western Kansas and
Indian Territory and northern and
eastern Texas and all Of the country
east Of this lin, OF states; also In the
southern portions OF Manitoba, Oat.-
rio, Gu ebec. New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia. It breeds in all parts OF this
imnecse district. In the winter
months it Is not generally found north
of a diagonal line com mencing on the
Atlantic c ,ast at about ~ degrees
north and running southeasterly 5e:38s
degrees north in Kansas. An analysis
+ the food OF the meadowlark, leads
one to wonder how farmer can act:
so much against his IN interests as
to allow one Of the birds tobe shot on
premises which he controls. -; 81
It is knowo that nearly three quar-;
tiers of the meadow lark's food for the
year is composed OF insects, over12
per cent. is weed seeds, and Is per-
cent. is grain. However, an exami-
nation OF the food by months shows
that all of the grain that is eaten Is
cleaned from the stubble6eld In The
months Ct January. E .bruary, March,
April and D c,mber. After the
month OF May, when grain is ripen-z
ing aad is being harvested, none is;
eaten by meadow zlarks. The favor.
ite food is insects when they can be-
obtained; for SIX moaths Of the. year
the amount being ever 80 per cent.
and during August and September
over SO per cent. Even during the:
winter months, when insect life is:
dormant, the N eadoS lark fn6s.
enough that is hidden below the
surface OF the ground or secreted
among the grass to furnish very con-;
siderable portion OF its diet. An ex.;;
animation OF the table showing the
actual kind Of food found in thes238.
stouachs gives further proof OF the;
immense economic value ofEthe mead
owlark. Grass aoppers and crickets;
compcse over Is per cent OF Its food,
while an equally ia'ge share Is made:
up OF beetl s, among them WeeFiisE
curcullo and click beetles, these latter
| during the laryal stage being known:
as wireworrns, when they often de-
stroy seed b.fore it has germinated,:
thus running fields Of corn and other.
! grain at the ou+Set. - -
Meadow larks also q est,oy cutwoims,
army worms aad numbers OF the pest.
known as the ch1nch bug. This lat
ter pest has destroyed in TIA United
States during the last half century
grain to the value Of over $3.50, ,oo0,,.
900. In some Of the s:uthern states
notably Georgia, MEADOW lark Is called.
the wheat bird, as it is claimed dit de-
stroys wheat; However, tie scientific
study OF it's 70 ID proves this to hean
unfouuded and erroneous claim. For-:
! tucatsly the meadow lark is protected
By law, in all parts OF the countryse1.
cept 10 the following states, viz: Viz:
ginia, n nth Carolins, Georgia: Ala.
oama, Mississippi, Louisiana Ten:
Dessce, Missouri aad Idaho. The ag,:
ricul up;sts Of these states should in,
1 sist thas this valuable bird be given
absolute pret ction, syr by doingsso
millions IT insect pests will be- de-
stroyed daily and hundreds of thous-
ands Of d liars will he saved which
would otherwise b: lost.