Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1908-01-09


1t viii deal fairly beeau.. It will
serve the best interests Of the great.
e-t number; its object will he 10 secure
the passage Of such laws that the use
and enjoyment Of birds and game will
not be confined to an, particular class.
II will deal humancly because II will
insist that no birds or game he killed
unless some distinct good is TO BE- se-
complishei; and because it will endeavor
to save for the coming generations Of
this state the abundant winged life that
means to mueh to the happiness, pros
Perity and educational improvement Of
the people.
Birds have been killed BY thousand.
merely for the decoration Of women's
hatsl
Bird. have been slaughtered in sovnt.
less numbers To satisfy the greed and
reckle-sne-s of pot-hunters
Birds have suffered severely from the
unchecked increase Of cats and dog.
Birds have b>~n prosecuted by bsys
end cth~v ths~rnsirss y-r-~~> ~bsss
| education in such matters is neglected.
None of these causes that have re-
suited 80 dissstrously TO the birds can
be defended in the light Of modern eivi.
lization. Every one Of them i. . form
Of inhumanity and criminal was,eful.
ness
The birds that have been sacrificed to
the millinery fashions have an immense
~ greater value when alive, a. .
means Of educating the ear. the eye and
the heart.
The work of the pot-huntr has swept
almost out Of existence the game birds
"a resource that should have continued
for years a means Of moderate recrca-
ton and Of variation in the national
diet.
The song-biris and other insectivo-
rous species killed by boy gunners are
worth thousands upon thousands Of dol
lors TO the state in which they are
found. The cotton boil weevil is csus-
ing an annual loss of si5,ooo,ooo to
the cotton growing districts now infested
with il; the potato beetle cuts out $780,
100000 from the profits on the potato
crop; the cotton worm has been known
TO caus. q years damage amounting To
s30.0O0,rJ0. These are the insects that
make up . large part of the diet Of our
birds,
Who can doubt that il is time to deal
vigorously with this subject, and who
can afford to overlook the responsibility
that rests on the people Of Mississippi
in this matter. Italy Is an example of
. country largely stripped of its birds,
and the picture that il presents, as de-
-cribed by graphic and faithful writers,
should he sufficient to urge upon the
good citizens of Mississippi immediate
decisive action in this vital matter.
II you can't work for the cause, give
a membership due. II you can't spare
a membership due, speak to those who
can. Re fair TO the best interests of
the state. and do what you can, no mat
ter how little. II 10 = tax, but . small
one, and the returns will astonish you'll
County .Superintendents in Jackson, and
to all educators directing school work in
Mississippi:
To Superintendent OF Education in
Mississippi:
The forestry and agricultural inter
ests of the United States suffer an an
nual loss of $500, ,O0o, 900 from the dep
relations of insects figures of the De-
partment of Agriculturel. The killing
of every insectivorous bird means an
addition to this burden of loss. Does the
school boy know itt
Thousands of dollars are spent an
nually in Mississippi to make better
and more efficient citizens Of the next
generation. Is the ground covered by
this expenditure if appreciation of nat
ural resources is omitted from the cur
riculum! Do we spend money to edu-
cate children unskilled in the first prin-
ciples of better care for our feathered
allissf
in demanding the slaughtr of birds for
her hats when she has grown up be-
side boys whose only thought Of a bird
was to kill it,
II an opportunity to accomplish their
purpose has ever been presented to the
educators of Mississippi, it comes now in
awakening better impulses among chill
dren towards birds-friends OF sgricul-
ture-objects Of many of our whole
soonest pleasures, quickeners Of human
observation and intelligence.
Every superintendent In Mississippi
owes 1t to the teachers and pupils Of
his county to initiate them in the
mysteries and economies Of feathered
life. Children deprived Of the pleasure
of such study are being injured
cally, stunted in their moral
and starved esthetically. {
health and character lie in the
Of nature.
Put your teachers and pupils
tho touch of the bird study and ?
tion forces in this state. Talk
matters when you visit your sc
arrange for them in your eours
study, and avail yourselves of the
and leaflets planned for the instru
and entertainment of school childr
matters of this kind.
Finally, call on the writer IL he
assist you, and give him in turn
benefit Of your suggestions.
II. Fl. KOPMAN
Special Agent National Associstio
Audubon Societies.