The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-12-11
THE FARMERS FRIENDS
Birds and Animals That Should Be
Allowed to Multiply Unmolested


Allowed to Multiply Unmolested
Every time a gun is fred which
brings down an owl, a hawk, a crow,
crane. heron, bittern or shrike, the
farmer loses a friend; and note of
welcome is sounded for the ever-in-
creasing army of feld-mice-an army
which now counts its numbers in bill
lions, and which yearly levies upon
the farmers of the United States a.
tax greater than the pension roll, as
great as the cost of the Panama can
al, says c. r. Barns, Of the extension
division, Minnesota college of agri-
culture. For these birds are the nat
ural enemies of the mice-they are
the foremost of the agencies with
which nature has proposed to keep
the multiplication of these predatory
rodents within bounds.
Almost as inviting to the mice is
the welcome sounded whenever the
gun brings down a fox. weasel, a
mink, skunk, raccoon, coyote, lynx,
badger or shew. Except for an &C.
casional tribute levied on the hem
, roost-something against which 1t is
easy to guard-all these animals are
harmless, and they find in mice their
natural food. In the same category
may be placed a great number of
harmless snakes.
If these birds and animals should
be allowed to multiply unmolested the
farmers and the nation might soon
be eased of the awful burden now
carried to support the predatory army
of mice Lest the figures above may
| fail to impress the readers magma
ton let 1t be said that each mouse ac-
tually consumes in year 30 pounds
of food, such as Is suitable for a
cow Suppose this food to consist of
hay only-one of the cheapest of
feeds. We then find that single
billion of mice, eating 80 pounds each
will consume 100000 tons. At $12
ton, the contribution of the farms
to the support of the mice would foot
up $3.50, 100000 a year. But what OF
the grain the fruit and the garden
vegetables consumed? What of the
costly orchards girdled and ruined
by mice? Who will venture to say
that the destruction wrought in these
will not overbalance the value of Is,
100000 tons of mere hay?
Two years ago, an unfortunate Wis
consin orchardist found that all tn,
trees in his apple orchard-an or
chard which by painstaking endeav
or had been brought to such a degre,
Of productivity as to be capable o
yielding $4,000 a year-had been grid
led and killed by mice working unde
the snow And this is how the mic,
gained the numbers and audacit,
+ which enabled them to accomplish
such a work of ruin:
Nailed TO his barn door was tn,
carcags of an owl which he had sho
and nailed up as warning to Others
of its kind. In the stomach of tina
owl, which was opened in the pres
ence OF the stricken orchardman b,
an expert of the federal biological su
yey, were found the remains of min,
field mice. That owl a real benefac
tor, had been destroyed by the maj
whose orchard he had been striving
with all a governments energy {,
conserve.
He was a friend and a fellow
worker and yet you killed hen. sai,
/, the scientist as he turned to the OF
chardman. He came here to eat tn
field mice and to try to save your OF
chard. He was dining we'll and h
would have called friends and famil
to his assistance If he had been lef
alive. Your trees are gone and yo
have yourself to blame for the los.
Hawks and owls are the orchard
mans assistants and you couldn't d
any better than to start a new OF
chard and start at the same tim
propagation houses for the CROWN
Of those species of birds
This particular instance of the cos
Illness OF the warfare waged agains
the birds and animals which prey al
on mice is more striking because III
loss was concentrated upon a singl
individual. But that is a poor agr
cultural township indeed, where III
| loss of the whole number of farmer
| from the same cause, does not aggr
gate $4,000 year.