Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-11-06
BOB WHITE FARMERS FRIEND.
Scientist Demonstrates Partridge VAL
liable as Mans Ally.
charleston News and Courier.)

of Agriculture. 1T Is q most inter
esting and valuable work, finely H.
Illustrated with portraits of birds and
the harmful insects which birds are
intended by nature to keep in check.
1t is we'll known hat without birds
man and animals could not continue
to exist, for all vegetation would be
devoured by countless hordes OF in
sects. Birds are natures police and
maintain the equilibrium Of creation
by feeding on insects. In proportion
as vegetation nourishes or degener-
ates, man himself nourishes or de-
generates, for the farming interests,
the food and clothing producers, are
far more important than all other In
terests combined.
The above book has been publish
ed to educate the public by means Of
an appropriation of $500 by the
Legislature of Massachusetts, and Is
distributed gratuitously in certain
local quarters and sold to the out
side public for a mere fraction of It's
value. Besides this, Massachusetts
has established and rigidly enforces
judicious laws for the preservation
Of birds through a thorough system
of honest and active game wardens,
and has, as have also thirty-fve
IhS oldtSo VI IN ohlol, d uIllS
license, which more than defrays the
expenses. She also employs at good
salaries competent official experts to
scientifically and practically ascer-
tain what Is advisable for bird pres
ervation. These New England peo-
pie have never been accused of spend
ing one cent in a public or private
capacity without a we'll assured GER
tainty Of an ample return for the ex-
pendtiure, and therefore it is clear
from the above what Importance
they attach to bird preservation. 1t
is obvious how incomparably more
important 1t is in South Carolina,
where agriculture is incomparably
more important. Moreover, here UNI
happily, we have a visitation, which
kind Providence has spared them, in
hordes of idle negroes of all ages
daily roaming around the country
n taking care that the work of
bird determination goes merrily on
at all seasons Of the year. Yet our
people are probably more densely
ignorant Of the subject and more
blindly reckless Of the consequences
Of their ignorance than any civilized
race On the face Of the earth. We
have laws for bird preservation
which are not enforced; a game war;
den without a cent Of salary or other
%pecuniary provision, thus making the
whole thing a CHASTITY joke; no hunt
ers' license, (although thirty-fve en-
lightened States have), which even
at II dollar a piece would supply
more than ample funds to enforce
the law, besides greatly %curtailing
the number of vagrant negro tres
nnssers
! .rlr,Y.rs. El,t " A.. b.,l..Ii -,
has donated $780, 600. LGWard8 bird
preservation in Louisiana. Whilo
we are SO much eNict&d over the III,
I0ries We sllner at the hands Of mil
Il0nairc8j (which are i~udisputahly
numerous enough, would it not be
we'll to pull the beam out Of u own
eye and lay up a little credit balance
in Heaven to check against in the
hereafter?
The extract above referred to Is as
follows. 1t concerns only one bird,
but that is an important one, the
partridge, (miscalled quail" a bird
which does not exist in the United
States, according to the American
Ornithological Union, an undisputed
authOrity):
"Thc feeding habits of the Bob
White are such that it must be rank
ed by the farmer as one >f the most
useful birds OF field and garden. 1t
Is very nearly harmless, as it takes
little grain or fruit. Occasionally in
the corn field 1t pecks at a broken
down ear Of corn. and it picks a good
deal Of waste grain in the stubble Of
oats and wheat. 1t sometimes eats
a few strawberries, but these are ev-
identity not a favorite food, for birds
in captivity have refused them when
hungry. On the other hand, Bob
White, during spring and summer,
feeds on many of the most destruct-
i've pests Of garden n field, and in
fall and winter eats great numbers
OF the seeds Of many noXious weeds.
DR.. Judd makes some interesting cal
culations regarding the quantity Of
insects and weed seeds consumed by
the Bob White in Virginia and North
Carolina. Estimating hat there are
four birds to each square mile in
these States, and that each bird con-
sumes half an ounce Of weed seed
daily from September 1 to April /,
he concludes that II thousand,
three hundred and forty tons are
eaten by quail (partridges) annually
in the two States, and rs insects
form about 0nc-third Of the birds
looa nom June L l y AUGUST TIC eS-
Inmates that partridges eat three
hundred and forty tons Of insects in
these States within those two months.
1T is somewhat. remarkable that
the partridge feeds on most of the
su%perlatively destructive crop and
garden pests in North America,
among them the Rocky Mountain To-
Gust, chinch bug cotton worm, Next
can cotton boil wecvil, army worm,
colorado potato beetle, striped Gu
cumber beetle, May beetle, bean leaf
Deetle and several species Of grass