The Republican journal., 1909-04-15
FARMERS BATTLE FOR INsEcT-EAT-
ING BIRDS.

Feather Dealers Alone Would Leave Cror
Guards Defenseless. Nations Wealth al
Stake.
New YORK, April IL, 1909 Opposed
solely by designing band of Broadway
feather dealers, the farming forces OF
this entire State are today fighting q
desperate battle for law which will
fully protect the wild birds that they
know can alone save their crops from in
sect pests. Headed by the National AS
ISOLATION of Audubon societies and the
State grange with membership Of 80,
600 working farmers, every agricultural
interest in the Empire State is lined up
to demand such measures to prevent the
butchery of the insect-eating and nom
game birds as have begun to benefit the
farm lands of Iowa, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Louisiana, South Carolina,
and West Virginia. Unless the profess
sional traders in the scalps of these
slaughtered songsters are now made to
respect the economic value of their prey,
it is declared, the orchardists and ag-
riculturists of the whole country will
soon suffer by the increase of every form
of insect plague.
Declaring that the valuable bird re-
sources of the whole American people
are at stake on the principle of this bat
tie of the New York farmers against the
commercial feather hunters, Clifford
Pinchot, head of the National Conserva-
ton Commission has today come out in
strong support of the proposed legisla-
ton. Letters of warm endorsement of
this campaign have also been received at
the Audubon headquarters here from C.
F. Cox, president of the New York
Academy of Sciences, Madison Grant,
chairman of the executive committee of
the New York Geological Society, DR..
Raymond A Pearson, New York State
Commissioner of Agriculture and E. P.
Felt, the State entomologist. F. N
Godfrey, master of the State grange,
has already actively enlisted with all his
forces in the fight
Half of the daily food of the crow
blackbird alone is made up of the insect
pests that destroy the crops. This has been
proven by expert examination of 2, $50
stomachs of these wild birds, the results
of which are being submitted to the leg
islators here by Dr. 7. S. Palmer of the
government Department of agriculture
With others Of the non-game species that
1T is proposed to protect here, these birds
have been shown to be the only effective
check to the plague of Brown Tail and
Gypsy moths which is sweeping over the
country from the New england States,
where 5000, 900 has already been spent
in vain attempts to curb its devastation
of the crops and woods. With the in
sect-eating birds it is also planned to
shield the Snowy Owl, which is known to
consume the hordes of meadow mice
whose depredations have cost the orchard
lists of the country millions Of dollars.
''The battle for the proper protection
of the insect-eating birds will have it's eff
feet upon the whole country" said Will
liam butcher, president of the National
Association of Audubon Societies at it's
Headquarters, AL Broadway, today.
More than 81, 10000 has been
proven by the government to have beeu
lost to the farmers of this land last year
through the depredations Of insect pests.
We want to determine if this vast loss to
the nation is not to be considered, rather
than the selfish interest of the few deal
ers in the plumage of the very birds that
destroy these insects 1t is high time
for the farmers, orchardists, ranchmen
and planters of this country to assert
themselves in this matter as the agricul-
turists are doing in this State. We feel
that we can count upon the support of
every patriotic American to help US save
the nation S valuable bird resources