The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-07-14
MRS MAE ROMIG MILLER'S
BIRD TALKS ARE IN
TERESTING AND IN
STRUCTIVE.
Information of Much Value to
Farmers, Gardeners and to
Everybody Who Wants
knowledge.

birds reside or visit in the Unit
ed States. Their presence is not
only a pleasure to- us, but is of
the utmost economic Importance.
There are in the United States
about 100000 different kinds Of
insects, most OF them injurious
to MAN. Practically all OF these
insects multiply very rapidly, an
individual insect may become
the progenitor OF a million or
more of its kind in single
season. If it were not for some
natural check to the increase OF
insect life the whole country
would suffer annually, what par
ticular sections do at times, for
instance, the ScOurge OF grass
hopper in Kansas and Nebraska
several years ago or more recent
". the canker worm IN the or
cfnards OF Massachusetts and HI
inois.
The majority of birds live on
insects. 1t is calculated that a
bird eats about 100000 insects
wear. Each bird of course is
locking ont for its own interest
and so SOME useful insects are
DESTROYED. However a careful
laboratory test OF the contents OF
THE stomach of 100 species of our
most common birds has shown
that the English sparrow alone
is to be entirely condemned from
the food standpoint. Three
kinds OF hawks sometimes de-
strov chickens and the wood
peckers and sapSuckers may be
beneficial or harmful to man, ac-
cording to circumstances.
The black bird may pull one
corn stock to get the kernel and
the cutworm, leaving the other
two stocks to live and thrive.
These cut WORMS that cut OFT
corn for the farmer and cabbage
for the farmers wife, are also
hunted in the fields by the crow
and cowtbird, in the meadow and
low ground, by the meadow lark
in the orchard and garden by the
ORIOLES. catbird and shrikei; on the
lawn by the robin and hOusewren
and in the woodlands by the
brown thrasher.
No place between the pIow
furrow and the high heavens IS
missed by our busy little protec-
tors. THE nlgfthawk wiz ~ at
night with open mouths, Tor
hours ait a time, catching bugs
and other insects.
The quail, grosbeak and whip
poor will eat the potato bug !;
the ttentLcaterpiIlar (which does
so. much to the apple trees and
cherry trees is eaten by THE black
and yellow billed cuckoo. Just
recently | hlave heard the farm
ers OF Marshall county complain
of the scale insect on the fruit
trees and THEY had satisfied
themselves with investigation,
that these were carried from or
ca,ard to orchard on the feet OF
birds. but they had not satisfied
me as to- whether that was the
only part the birds played IN tins
particular insects life.
find that the woodpecker and
cedar wax wing are its special
enemies.
The cedar wax-wing are not
numerous here, but observation
has shown that birds drift rapid
" to places where their favorlte
food is abundant and the wax
wing remains throughout the en-
tire wear so gets the insect IN
every stage of IT'S development.
The chinch bug which gets in
to the ripening wheat is eaten
bv the quail, robin. catbird and
brown shrasher. The wireworm
that does so much damage to
corn is eaten bv the blackbird,
robin. woodpecker, oriole and the
meadow lark.
Crasshonpers and crickets are
eaten by over so different kinds
of birds and THE army worm is
eaten by twenty different kinds.
The mouse fly and mosquito rs
eaten by the barn swallow. A
southern fruit grower declared
that one pair OF purple martins
will do more for a peach orchard
than will the best spraying ma
chine ever invented.
If the grain grower does not
wish to share with THE crow and
blackbird the crops they help to
grow, as ne gladly shares them
will, his horse, he may brighten
them from the field with bright
pieces OF tin, or he may do the
kinder and fairer thing by feed
ing them corn at some other
place.
Man ENJOYS no unmixed bless
ings: few of cur blessings are as
nearly pure as our wealth OF the