The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1912-08-07
BOYS, STOP THE
KILLING OF BIRDS
Farmers Lose 100000 100000 a Year
by Reason Of the Ravages Of
the Various Insects.
BIRDS OF GREAT ASSISTANCE
Consume Insects of All Descriptions
and Thus Materially Assist the
Farmers in Destroying Pests.

We do not know of any suggestion
that could be made which will stop
cats from killing birds, but we do be-
lieve that the boys can be appealed
TO and made to understand that it is
not only cruel pastime, but one
which must certainly result in injury
to vegetation as we'll as human life to
XIII OF the birds. We hope every boy
who reads this will put away his gun
and become a friend Of the birds for
the good they do rather than their
destroyer for the pure lust of slaugh.
ter. The humiliation of bird life will
mean untold poverty resulting from
the the scarcity of crops which would
De eaten by insects. Col. G. O..
Shields, during lecture on Birds
and Animals of America" delivered in
Mandel hall of the University of Chi.
cago recently, makes this statement:
Ninety per cent of the normal bird
life OF this country already has been
destroyed and the other 10 per cent
will go in the next five years unless
strong measurements are employed
to stop the slaughter" he said. Care
full scientists tell us that if all the
lnsect-eating birds We're destroyed the
whole continent would, within three
years, become uninhabitable by reas-
on OF the myriads of insects that would
spring up and devour every living
thing.
Farmers Lose $1,000, ooo, 600 Yearly.
Farmers and fruit growers of the
country are losing over 100000 900
year by reason Of the ravages of in
sects. Cotton growers of Texas are
losing $5O,00O,OOO a year by reason
OF the ravages of the boil weevil And
all because the quail and the prairie
chicken, the natural enemies of that
bug, are practically extinct in that
state
Wheat and fruit growing regions
are suffering because of the killing
OF OF sap-suckers, robins, blue jays,
o1ee birds, orioles, hangers, martins
swallows, swifts, night-hawks, egrets,
herons, bobolinks, gulls, king fishers
and other birds which man loves to
Kill under the pure lust for slaughter.
"A quail killed in a po1nto field in
IeXas had in its craw the remains OF
lO1 potato bugs. Another killed in
Texas had in its craw the remains of
127 boil weeyils, another killed in a
Kansas wheat field had the remains
of 1900 chinch bugs. C. L. Harlatt
calculated that the Hessian fly dam
age to the wheat crop in 1900 was
S1OOOOO,OO0. The chinuh bug, as early
as 1864, damaged staple crops $780,
100000.
Proposes Death Of Cats.
Men who are fond of killing things
should vent their lust on the prowling
house cats. William butcher, E. H.
forDush, John Burroughs and H. K.
Fisher agree that house cats destroy
more birds annually than any other
animal except man. Over 1000. OOO-
100000 birds are killed in New York
State by cats every year.
ITO lessen this enormous slaughter
OF birds and thus save the crops we !
must shorten the open seasons. Wei
must make closed seasons of several
year for certain kinds of game. Wei
must reduce bag limits. We must stop
the sale of game of all kinds, every
where and at all times. We must
prohibit spring shooting. We must
provide federal protection for migra-