Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-05-29

out entirely II let alone. ANY farme
that permits a whole covey Of part
ridges to be destroyed is sacrificing {
host Of his best friends. This doe:
not mean that partridges are not tc
be shot at all. for it does no materia
damage to kill a reasonable number
out of each covey, say five or six birds
Nothing wages such relentless wal
on the bllbug as the partridge.
Farmers have recently reported to
the Audubon society that partridges
are eating the worms in their tobac-
co fields to such an extent that the
fields are no longer troubled with these
pests. There can be no doubt that II
sufficient birds were left there would
be a marked difference in the number
OF tobacco worms. 1t has been known
for some years that the partridge ate
the Colorado potato beatle and It is
now estimated that one full covey OF
partridges will worm twenty acres of
potatoes If the birds are not disturbed.
The United States department of
agriculture says in one of its recent
bulletins that the partridge is unex-
celed as a weed destroyer and this is
not to be disregarded in summing up
the birds value to the practical far
mer
Like all birds Of that family, they
are fond of grasshoppers and feed on
them freely. Grasshoppers are among
the most destructive Of field insects.
When they are sufficiently numerous
they sweep the fields bare. For years
in Kansas and Nebraska they ate up
grass, grain and every green thing.
1t was found that turkeys ate them
and farmers began raising turkeys on
large scale. Today Kansas is the
largest shipper of turkeys in the world
and the difficulty is to get enough
grasshoppers for the turkeys to feed
on.
What the turkeys did in Kansas and
Nebraska, the partridge does in South
Carolina, where. until recently, they
were everywhere numerous. With the
influx of visitors from the north and
elsewhere each winter and the serving
Of game at restaurants and hotels, thu
partridge has been sadly reduced and
has disappeared entirely from some
sections of the state.
The intelligent farmer Of today can
not afford to disregard modern dis
cOveries, and this one in particular.
The partridge deserves protection.
The weekly newspapers Of the state
that go into every nook and corner
can do a great work for the people by
urging on farmers to back the work
Of the Audubon society of South Car
olina in teaching the intelligent value
of bird life.
Without the work Of the birds hu-
man life would not be possible in the
world, for millions of insects would
eat up every blade Of grass, every
stalk of grain, every green leaf. Birds
are one Of the agencies with which a
beneficient Providence keeps the
world in order and among birds none
Is more valuable to the farmer than
the partridge; none better earns his
right to wise care and protection.
In Texas it has been found that the
partridge eats the boil weevil, al
though not to the same extent as the
bullbat, the killdee and the chacalaca.
Try saving the partridges for fe"
years until they become numerous and
note results. The Audubon society Is
anxious to hear from farmers on their
experience with partridge and other
birds. From such information valua-
BILE results flow.
Keep your partridges alive and most
# your worst enemies will trouble you
no longer. The Audubon society begs
as many weekly papers as possible to
urge the care Of the partridges in
their communities on the farmers.
Immense good can be done in this
way. James Henry Rice Jr.