The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-08-09
SOME COMMON BIRDS ON
THE FARM

to keep these bdued if it were not
for the assistance Of the birds.
If we are to believe what many toll
ing scientists have revealed, what
many State agricultural departments
tell US, what the United States govern
Yellow Hammer.
ment publications declare, and what
we can all see with our eyes ii we
stop to observe, one great lncalculabie
value of our birds lies in the tremend-
Gus number of harmful insects which
they destroy and the vast quantities of
harmful weed seeds which they con-
sumo. 1t is no small service that a
pair of robbins render when hey
honor you by living a summer in your
garden, and each day probably eat
more than their weight of worms n
insects. 1t is no little thing to have
a pair of peweeS nest in a tree near
your house, and every day for weeks
and weeks rid the air of hundreds OF
harmful insects that seek to destroy
the foliage or to sting the fruit OF
your trees. / once watched a W
capture sixteen insects during a period
of ten minutes.
Many people have failed to appre-
ciate what a tremendous form the
wild birds are for doing good to the
agricultural interests of the country,
simply from a failure to observe them
- ioii ptCIIS " - ( WIN
birds except when the frightened crea-
lures are wildly en~deaVoring to escape
from the real or imaginary enemy
who has 1ntruded upon their solitude.
But hide in a quiet place, almost any
where in the fields or woods, and soon
the birds come back to their accus-
toned activities.
While we often fail to give birds
credit for the good they do, but few
men neglect to condemn them most
heartily for any act which may be
regarded as detrimental to ones inter
ests, no matter how superficial the
data may be upon which the charge
is based.
1t is not an unheard of occurrence
for men to order that all robbins, cat
birds and m~ockingbirds on their
places hould be shot, because these
birds were seen eating cultivated fruit.
But did not the birds perform a great
part in helping raise that fruit, Why
not do as some men do in the land,
who plant a few more trees or vines
in order that there may be enough
fruit for both the planter and the
birds
Whenever man interferes with the
laws Of nature he is liable to suffer
for it. 1t is one Of the divine and alb
solutely Interchangeable laws of nature
that birds are set apart to serve as a
great natural check upon the hordes
of insects which, like a scourge, are
ever falling upon the plant life with
undated fury. To kill the birds is
Bluebird.
to allow these pests to increase.
SOme Of our experts
who have made a close study of the
subject of bird destruction and the re-
suits, tell us that one-tenth Of the en-
tire agricultural products of eastern
United States is annually a total loss
from the ravages of insects. This
percentage, too, we are told, is on the
increase, owing to the decreasing
numbers of birds. That many birds
are far less numerous than formerly,
any observant man over forty years Of
age will readily testify.
The early inhabitants of New Eng
land felt that they had a grievance
against the blackbirds for eating corn
in the fields SO laws were passed Of
fered "a bounty of three pence a dozen
Yellow Beilicd Woodpecker.
for dead maize thieves DR.. Benja-
min Franklin is quoted by Peter Kahn,
a Swedish naturalist, as saying that
the blackbirds were thus exterminated,
but as in the summer of 1749 an i'm
mense quantity Of worms appeared in
the meadows, which devOured the grass
and did great damage.the people abat-
ed their enmity, for they had observed
that those bi-ds lived chiefly on these |
worms before the maize is ripe, and
consequently ~extirpated them"
OF recent years the study Of the re-
'atlonship of birds to agriculture has
revealed many facts which are having
a decided influence in changing public
regarding many birds which
were formerly regarded as largely if
not wholly detrimental. The most
example is probably in refer
ence to the real value of some species
Of hawks and owls on the farm. Many
people have recognized but little dis
hnctlon betWeen these, and tens of
Meadow lark.
thousands of these useful creatures
have been killed by persons who sin
cerely believed they were doing the
country a service. We now know that
a very large percent of the food of
the sparrow hawk consists of grass