Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-01-26
How Bird. Preserve tie. Trees.

Now and again some enterprisine
newspaper man expatiating on the work
of the Audubon Societies dishes up re-
markable symposium regarding some nm
dertaking of the National Association OF
the usefulness Of birds. Then some
'doubting Thomas" very properly dis
counts the tale and even expresses doubt
as to whether the birds are, after all, &C
necessary to mans welfare a. the pro
tectionists would have US believe. But
the practical beneficial results OF the
work of the birds have now been so long
observed and 80 conclusively proven thai
there is no longer any room for doubt
Regarding their usefulness. Destruction
of trees and crops always follows ex
treme depletion of the numbers of the
smaller native birds. Moreover con.
servation OF birds produces the opposite
effect.
In 1S94.5 I made experiments to at
tract birds into an old orchard In Med
ford, Mass Food and nesting boxes
brought tho birds to the orchard in con-
siderable numbers. The succeeding
summer apple tree insects such as the
lcankerworms and the tent caterpillars
we're very abundant and stripped the
foliage from most of the apple trees in
the town; but nine remained 10 good
foliage and bore almost the only full
crop of fruit in town that year. Details
of this experiment are given 10 bulletin
entitled "Birds as Protectors of Or
chards", which is published and distribut-
ed free by the Massachusetts, State Board
| of Agriculture. Similar experiments
year after year have demonstrated clear
| ly the dollars and-cents value of the
birds in orchard and woodland. But
while my observations we're under way
the German Baron Hans Won Berlepsch
was carrying out, unknown to me, num-
Der of more extensive and painstaking ex-
periments in bird conservation on bis
great estate at Seebach. he secured re-
suits there far more striking than my
modest efforts produced here. He
studied the methods of attracting and
feeding birds and those of constructing
nesting boxes and preparing bird
shelters. He carried out the game pre-
serve principle with birds until he
had breeding on his home park OF IL
acres about 1000 small birds, 2 pairs of
wild ducks, one pair of moor hens and
one of grebes. Three hundred nesting
boxes hung up in his grounds are all in
habited by birds. In his 400 acres OF
woodland there are two thousand nest
ing boxes and everywhere shrubbery is
so trimmed as to make dense and safe
nesting places for the birds while the
enemies of birds are destroyed by the
keeper of the estate.
The results of this work are that the
estates of the Baron Won Berlepsch are
free from insect injury when others SUI
fer. In 1905 the woods in the country
refund about were stripped by caterpil-
lars of tortrix virdana. The wood of
Won Berlepsch was untouched and stood
out among the surrounding woods like
green oasis. At distance of little
more than q quarter OF mile from 1t the
first traces of the plague were apparent
and quarter of mile further on 1t ap-
peared in full force. This is just about
the distance that small birds carry food
to their young. The Prussian Govern
ment foresters have now adopted similar
measures with like results. And the
National Association of Audubon So
cieties is now introducing into this
country for experimental purposes some
very successful, scientifically constructed
nesting boxes and feeding appliances
now in use by Baron Won Berlepsch with
the expectation of producing similar re-
suits here EDWARD HOWE FoRBUsH,
New England Agent, National Associa-
ton of Audubon Societies.