Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-01-29
OUR TREES IN DANGER
Doomed Unless Native Birds Are
Protected, Says John Davey.
HAVOC WROUGHT BY INSECTS


Birds That Feed on Them, Says Tree
Lover-EnsIish Sparrow Must Go,
He Deciares-cats Serious Menace
to Birds.
John Davey of Kent. O.. whose lee
,ture on trees and their diseases is at
tracing national attention. has been
chosen to give the opening lecture at
the great summer school in Chautall-
qua, N. Y, says the Kent CO.. Courier.
The intense interest recently shown
in Dayton. O.. and in YoAhers. N. Y,
indicates that great national cam
paign is about to be inaugurated for.
the restoration Of the native BIRDS.
William butcher. national president
of the Audubon society. was at the
.Yonkers meeting and said" am an
Audubonist not from an aesthetic but
from an economic standpoint. Our So
cieties will gladly cooperate with the
civic leagues to help save the trees by
the restoration of the native birds.
The agricultural department at Wash
ington informs US that 100000, 900
damage annually is done to the crops
of the United States by insects and
this through. our folly and sins of de-
stroying the native birds" z
Mr.. Dayey shows in his lecture that
in fifteen years Ohio and the adjoining
states will be treeless if the fall web
worms" cannot be brought under con-
troll. Already they are throughout the
woodlands. and it is beyond human
power to control them. ANY tree" he
says. "defoliated five years in success
sion will perish" Again, he says: Go
ing from Pittsburg to Marietta on the
B. and o. last fall saw thousands of
hickory and walnut trees standing
dead, killed by the caterpillars. They
first attack the wild cherry, then the
hickory and walnut trees, then. the
apple. elm. ilanthus-indeed, anything
and everything. The gypsy and brown
tail moths are sweeping westerly from
Massachusetts, and our only hope is
from our God appointed friends. the
American native birds"
The English sparrow must go, for it
will not allow the bluebird, the oriole,
Wren or any Of our insectivorous birds
to stay near human dwelling. These
are driven from our homes by this
abominable pest-the English sshouse
sparrow" Then in the nesting season
these innocent little fellow workers
Of ours (the native BIRDS, whose main
living is the larvae. grubs. borers, ETC.,
become a prey, of the hawk, crow, red
squirrel and other enemies that prey
upon them.
Passing through the woods at Mr..
William Rockefeller's estate at Tarry-
town, N. Y, one morning last May, 1
noticed the crows fitting from shrub
to shrub. called the superintendent
attention to it. why" said he, there
are probably thousand crows in this
region, and this time of the year they
do little else but hunt for young birds.
Within all these beautiful woodland
surroundings there is scarcely song
ster heard"
In discussion following Mr.. Da-
vey's lecture in Yonkers the facts were
there brought out that the domestic
cat is one of the worst foes of the
birds. Said gentleman: I'VE have
a pet cat. None of us has ever seen
it catch mouse or rat, but last sea-
son it brought fifty-two young birds
into the house." An Audubonfst said
that his society had considered the
"cat nuisance" and there are estimat-
ed to be 6O,OOO,OOO cats in the United
States, and that most of these would
have to be shot or taxed out Of ex-
istence
Said Mr.. Dayey: without the trees
man could not live. Without the aid
Of our native birds the trees will sure
ly perish. am told that in the south
every boy big enough to carry a gun,
whether he be white or black, spends
his winter months in shooting and
shipping robins, catbirds, orioles, red
wings, meadow larks, etc., under the
name of 'reedbirds.' VIII the nation
awake and save the trees by restoring
and protecting the birds? Will. not the
newspapers speak to the people?"
Names Wasted Wood.
There are $4,000 cords of wood at
modest estimate going to rot in York