The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1905-09-21

Sfo( means many dollars In
| fhelr pockets-the preservation OF the
birds.
Year by year with one hand they
| have paid out millions Of dollars for
| insect destroycrs. while with the other
/ hand they have wnged wanton and
cruel warfare upon the birds, often in
.aport. but more often in the ignorant
4 teI!ef that the featheerd tribes were
1 iheves and vnrlets, whereas they were
and have always been. the true allies
ana co-workers of the agriculturist.
( Indeed, experts say that were there
no birds farming could not be carried
on 1T all, and that II the ranks of
4 he bird folk had not been So fright
| f,lly thnned by the destroyer many
t6ousands of dollars less would now
nave to come out of the farmers pock.
cts for insect poison.
|, According to these authorities. one
ZENITH Of nil the products of the field is
now destroyed by insects, Of which
tlere are said to be more than 100 600
xuretlrs IN the United States, most of
~
animated by entomologists that in
sects wreak $2O0,O00,0OO worth of
havoc annually to the crops OF this
country. When 1t is understood that
one bird will destroy yearly 2400 in
sects, no further argument is needed to
imake the farmer respect and cherish
an ally so valuable and useful.
Hitherto most tillers of the soil only
SAW one phase Of the bird question.
They saw the birds eating few cher
Hes In the orchard or picking up few
crains OF corn or wheat, and that was
enough. They were all set down as
|lbieves and parasites. But now the
FARMER is coming to see that the deni-
fsns of the air derive by far the largest
b0tion of their food from insects,
oeftles. bugs an.,the seeds Of weeds.
d is largely due to the Audubon So
cetles scattered throughout the States
Nat the farmers eyes are at last being
pened to the true state of affairs. Ac-
ording to Willihm butcher, chairman
n the National Association OF Audu-
pm Societies for Protection Of Birds,
Fery bird in this country has its dis
tnctive and special work to do.
'F'lrst of ALL" he says, there are
6lrds like the night hawks and whip
Doorwills, that CLEAN insects in the
N at dawn and shutdown. and swal-
pws and fycatchers that CLEAN in the
air during the daylight hours. Then
I'VE have the sparrows and doves that
'help the farmer by eating weed seeds;
and furthermore, nature has provided
large numbers Of birds of different
kinds that clean the leaves Of trees
from all sorts Of insects. These are
represented by the wood warblers and
orioles and chickadees. Then the
and creepers and to some
extent the chickadees also watch over
and care for the trunks and limbs of |
trees, cleaning out from the cracks and |
In the bark all the eggs Of |
Insects that are in many cases too min
nte for the human eye to see.
.1rof.Farbush, Of the Massachusetts,
Department of Agriculture, has stated
publicly that the value of chickadee
G to an apple orchard is beyond computa-
ton, and yet the foreign laborers in
tells country will kill, without second
thought, chickadee or any other bird
whose value to agriculture is simply |
nestlmable. No part of the foreign
1opulation is more relentless toward I
te birds than the italian and Polish (
borers. In Italy there are no bird |
Tvs and there Is perfect liberty t. |,
INV anything and every thing In the /
athered line. The italian laborers
NE. who are largely laborers, having
pown no bird laws in their own coun-
NY, NJ slow to recognize any here.
Thf Ffthe birds for food, and any
lips w. feathers on 1t is their prey.
WfgEssy more actual trouble to the
ABI'N gciefy than all the rest put
FA 1for native Americans seldom
~ saali birds, although The boys
ertimes go bird nesting,
X'fo return to the economic value of
plrds, Clifford PInchot, chief forester
q the United States, in one Of his
zafe reports, states that boring beetles
end other forest-destroying insects de-
sroy forests to the value Of 500, 000,-
W year, and a very conservative
s'tlmate Of the loss to generd agrl-
uture through insect ravages is
100000 more yearly.
The Audubon societies are ipcc~
popted and fully organized bodies who
tfe working from two different stnnd-
points. Some Of them take up the aes-
eetc side Of the question and protect
oe birds because OF their beauty Of