The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-04-18
TO SAVE THE
 FARMERS FRIEND
Protection Urged for Bird Crop Guards-Insect and Weed Seed Eaters May Fall Prey to Milliners- Agriculture of All Aneri- ca at Stake.

New York, April 1s.-Fighting for the farmers of this country who last year lost over a billion dollars worth of crops from insect pests, according to government reports. the Audubon workers of this State are today mak- ing final efforts here to protect by law the insect-eating birds that the mil 1fnery interests are claiming the right to slaughter. While California, Mass achusetts. Oregon. Ohio, Missouri, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Washington have already been induced to properly preserve these bird crop guards, the featker dealers of New York and many other states are still able to plunder the farmers.s fields for their plunage. which insufficient laws allow them to sell without fear of prosecution. To show the American people that the $3S, ,o0o, 900 industry of the country's bonnet builders should no longer be allowed the right to menace the pros perity Of it's $20, ,000, GOO. .OoN worth of az ricu1tura1 investments, the National Association of Audubon Societies has today begun to extend to the whole country the campaign of economic ed ucat1on that it is carrying on through out this state.
 That a bird in the fields is worth hundreds on hats is being now demon strated to the New York legislature, which has already passed in it's lower house the Audubon bill for the pro lection of wild, non-game birds, ire Spect1Ve or whether they were taken within or without the state. Dead birds tell no tales, the ornithologists are showing, and through the impossi- bility of proving that the plumage sold by nailliners did not come from out side the State line, no legal steps can now be taken against the feather deal CTS. By stopping up this legal loop hole as the farming interests are try ing to do in this State, the common- wea1thS of the rest of the country can speedily check the serious harm which it is now possible for a. few feather dealers to do the agricultural interests of the whole country. it is pointed out.
 Although the monied millinery inter ests are f1ercely fighting legislation for the protection of the farmers feathr cred friends in this. State officers of the National Association of Audubon or later the agricultural interests of this country would force every State to cheek by adequate laws the slaugh- ter of the birds that are known to be so valuable to American agriculture and forestry. Government inveStiga- tion has shown concIusively that the insect and weed-Seed eating birds con- sune and hold in cheek the crop pests that already destroy $1, 1,Oo0, O0O, 900 worth of Americas agricultural wealth each year.
 ''The farmers of New York are re- 7oIting against the present license of the mil1iners to kill and sell the birds that form Natures greatest protection against crop pests." said William Butcher, president of the National As sociation of Audubon Societies, at its we believe we can win this battle for the farmers here and shall not stop our efforts until every State has safe the existence of these birds mean ruin to the agriculture of our country"