Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-09-10
PLEA FOR THE BIRDS,
Why A. H. Howell Urges That
They Be Saved.
MANY KILL BOIL WEEvILS.
Biological Survey Expert Tells of the
South's Need of Them-Proteetion to
Cotton Industry the Keynote of the
Warning From Washington.

Souths Need of Them-Proteetion to
Cotton Industry the Keynote of the
Warning From Washington.
Protection for the birds of the Unit
ed States is being urged by the biolog-
ical survey of the department of agri-
culture. The economic Importance of
such protection to the cotton industry
is pointed out in n recent ci&ular pre-
pared by Arthur I'll. Howell, assistant
in the biological survey, who has in
recent months made a minute study of
the extent to which the boil weevil is
destroyed by birds.
Something over year ago the bio
logical survey took this matter up and
sent out literature urging bird protec
ton. 1t was pointed out that the resi-
dents In the northern states could do n
great service to the south by seeing to
it that the birds that nest in the north
ern attitudes in spring and summer
and go to the south in winter were
shielded from destruction. The inter
est awakened in this matter was great
and there was eager response from
farmers, school children and others
Now, says the Washington correspond
ent of the New York Globe, in the light
of more recent investigations showing
that the boil weevil is destroyed by
birds to n greater extent than was at
first realized, another plea for the pro-
lection of the birds is being put forth
The region now infested by the cot
ton boil weevn includes the greater
part of the cotton growing area OF
Texas and Louisiana and parts of Ok
lahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi
Texas and Louisiana produced I'm 1906
more than 100000 bales of cotton,
valued at upward of S27G,000,000. The
loss caused by the boil weevil is va
riously estimated at from 10 to so per
cent of the crop, or even more in bad
ly infested areas. Even at the low
est reasonable estimate the loss to
the cotton planters of Texas and Lou
isiana from the ravages of the pest
yearly aggregates many millions. AS
the weevil extends it's range eastward
into the more humid regions of the
lower Mississippi valley, the damage
it does will be proportionately greater
than in the drier regions to the west
ward.
Investigations conducted by the bio
logical survey on the food habits of
birds in Louisiana in January and
February, 1908, showed that more
birds were feeding upon the weevils
and that many more weevils were de-
stroyed by them than In any of the
western localities where birds have
been collected at corresponding sea-
son. The destruction of weevils in
winter is much more important than
in summer, since the death of every
weevn at that season prevents the pro-
duction of u highly numerous progeny
in the early summer and poStpones the
date when the increase will become so
great as to destroy the cotton squares
as fast as they appear.
THE service rendered by the vast
army of birds which occupies the cot
ton plantations of the south during
the winter months" says Mr.. Howell,
'is only beginning to be appreciated
During the first season in which birds
were studied in their relation to the
weevil only twenty species We're dis
covered to feed upon the insect, ana
it was supposed the influence of birds
in keeping down the pest was slight
Later Investigations, however carried
on during several years and at all sea-
sons have shown that no less than
tifty-three species of native birds feed
upon the pest, many of them destroy
ing large numbers of weevils during
the most critical period Of the Insects
lfc-winter and early spring.
Various kinds of blackbirds. mead
ow larks, sparrows, pipits or t,tlarks,
wrens ana titmice are mentioned as
useful il the destruction of the boil
weevil, and many other we'll known
birds, such as the oriole, the swallow
and the mockingbird, are in the list
of those that feed upon the pest of
the cotton regions.