The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-04-02
BIRDS GUARD CROPS
FEATHERED TRIBE EAT INSECTS
THAT DESTROY GRAIN
Battle Being Fought BY the Farmers
of New York State to Protect the
Little Inhabitants of the Air; Re-
sources Are at Stake; the Whole
Country Should Be Aroused to
the Occasion.
Especial to The Free Press.1

Especial to The Free PressJ
New York, March 3O.-Opposed sole
| ly by the designing band of Broadway
feather dealers, the farming forces of
this entire state are today fighting
n desperate battle for law which will
fully protect the wild birds that they
know can alone save their crops from
insect pests. Headed by the National
Association of Audubon societies and
the state grange with IA membership of
$4,000 working farmers, every agricu-
tural interest in the Empire State is
lined up to demand such measures to
prevent the bntchery of the insect
eating and non game birds as have be-
gun to benefit the farm lands of
Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Louis
lana, South Carolina, and West Vir-
ginia. Unless the professional 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 agricul-
tursts of the whole country will soon
suffer by the increase of every form
ol insect plague.
Bird Resources at Stake
Declaring that the valuable bird re-
sources of the whole American people
are at stake on the principle of this
battle of the New York farmers against
the commercial feather hunters, Gift
ford Pinshot, head of the national
conservation commission has today come
out IN strong support of the proposed
legislation. Letters of warm endorse
ment of this campaign have also been
received at the Audubon headquarters
here from C.. F. Cox, president of the
New York Academy of Sciences, Madi
son Grant, chairman of the executive
committee of the New York Geological
society, DR.. Raymond A. Pearson, New
York state commissioner of agriculture
and f. P. Felt, the state entomologist.
F. Y. Godfrey, master of the state
grange, has already actively enlisted
with all his forces in the fight.
Live on Crop Insects.
Half of the daily food of the crow
blackbird alone is made up of the in
sect pests that destroy the crops it
has been proven by expert examina-
ton of $3.50 stomachs of these wild
birds, the results of which are being
submitted to the legislators here by
DR.. t. s. Palmer of the government
department of agriculture. With others
of the non game species that it is
proposed to protect here, these birds
have been SHOWN to be the only eff
fective check to the plague of Brown
Tail and gypsy moths which is sweep
ing over the country from the New
England states where $3.0O0,000 has
already been spent in vain attempts
to curb its devastation of the crops
birds it is also planned to shield the
Snowy Owl which is known to con-
sumo the hordes of meadow mice whose
depredatiOns have cost the orchardists
of the country millions of dollars.
Effect on Whole Country.
"This battle for the proper protec-
ton of the insect eating birds will
have its effect upon the whole country
said William butcher, president of the
Association of Audubon Socie-
ties at its headquarters, l4l Broadway.
today. "More than $l,00O,000,0O0 has
been proven by the government to have
been 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 be
considered raj her tnan the selfish in
terests of the few dealers in the plum
age of the very birds that destroy
these insects. 1t is high time for the
farmers, orchardists. ranchmen and
planters of this country to assert them
selves in this matter as the agricu
turists are doing in this state. We
feel that we can count upon the sup
port of every patriotic American to help
us save the nations valuable bird re-