Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-01
o-growers and doing enormous dam


gle season have sixty million descend
ants!
Apparently from six to ten all-con-
quering years elapsed for the beetle
before the grosbeak concentrated his
attention upon the invader. Then he
commenced to frequent the potato
patch, where he fed upon beetles in
all stages Of growth. Young grosbeaks
i simply clamored for beetle larvae, and
the new food habit of the grosbeak
cleared numerous potato patches of
beetles-much to the satisfaction of
the early settlers. Parent grosbeaks
have been known to transfer upward
Of thousand young, soft beetles from
potato hills to the waiting mouths of
young grosbeaks, all in one day.
| The grosbeak Is one of the few spe-
cies of birds which show distinct in
crease in population during the last
two decades. In this time most spe-
cies have suffered a marked decrease
in numbers. The passenger pigeon
numbered millions when the grosbreak
commenced to eat beetles. The pigeon
is now extinct. Abundant food and in
creased friendliness from man proba-
bly, account for the increased number
OF these birds. They also eat grasshop-
pers, other beetles, canker- worms, gip-
sy and brown-ta tail moths, chinch-bugs,
army worms, grubs, the seeds Of bind
weed, foxtail and smartweed, weevils
that infest forest and fruit trees, and
the deadly scale that ruins so many
pear, plum and apple trees.
| He is one of the most useful and at
tractive birds, and ranges over the vast
Mississippi valley into Southern Cana
| da. The grosbeak deserves to be known
more generally and is worthy Of a lar
| ger place in our literature. Audubon,
about century ago, paid tribute to
his musical charms and his good man.
| ners. The Lady Grosbeak Is neatly,
soberly dressed in buff, grayish and
brown. He himself is handsomely
dressed in black and white; beauti-
full block of rose brightens his breast,
and rose tints the lining Of his wings.
His song is one Of the sweetest-he
| loves to sing and sings like lover Of
ten he enchants the night with a song
| that Is as soft and romantic as moon
light He divals the cedar waxwing in
being an ideal mate; he has gracious
| manners, and cheerfully performs his
share of incubating and the work Of
feeding the young.
Hawks and owls are also helpful to
trees, for these birds feed upon rats
and mice, which are SO destructive to
the bark and the roots Of trees. 1t is
estimated that an owl devours, on an
| average, one thousand mice a year.
The value Of an owl, then, may be fair
ly stated as at least equal to the
| would do in year. Because three or
four kinds Of these birds at times kill
poultry little freely, the good work
they do the large remainder of time Is
not thought of; and-worse still-all
species of owls appear to be condemn
ed because the great horned owl
catches chickens. The killer Of hawks
and owls in an enemy of society. He
increases the cost of living by giving
aid and comfort to the destroyers Of
food products.
In Nevada the recent mice plague
extended over many thousand acres
There were thousand of these mice to
each acre. They attacked and devour-
ed almost every growing thing. This
| outbreak of mice quickly attracted the
| attention of many kinds of birds that
| fed freely upon this pest and thereby
| assisted in checking and in breaking
the plague. There are historical rec
| ords that tell of numerous outbreaks Of
| locusts, mice and other destructive
pests which were brought under con-
| troll through the assistance Of many
fed freely upon these overrunning
pests. In Nevada unfortunately, even
| in the beginning of the mice plague,
local gunners were freely shooting the
collected to feed upon the mice.
Our Policy Of Protection
There is much thoughtless birdkill-
| ing and there is much killing that Is
selfish and wanton, and 1t is impor-
| tant that the general knowledge con-
| cerning birds be extended.
One Of the most amusing and pecu-
liar incidents of bird-killing that came
under my observation occurred in the
margin of city one evening. The To-
cal gun club had a shooting contest at
passing wild birds. The gunners had
their hats off-and this revealed he
| fact that all but two of these men were
bald. The birds they were so energeti-'
cally killing were nighthawks-birds
that daily devour scores of flies, gnats.
| mosquitoes, flying ants and other irri-
tating, germ carrying pests that annoy
the baldheaded man.
Some birds are scavengers and 9TH
| ers feed upon germ distributing in
sects. Thus the presence of birds s.
| beneficial in helping to maintain sani-
tary conditions. They prevent the null
| tiplication of disease germs and the
| spread of disease. Flies, mosquitoes,
rats and mice are filthy and sow : the
| germs of disease.
Birds have the first place in Nature
in regard to winning and holding chill
dren. Birds, therefore, are an educa-
tional factor; they awken interest, give
concentration and develop the ability
to think-and the ability to think is
one CT the greatest of equipments. Then
too, a bird observer is quickly and
thoroughly taught the relations Of
things. When it comes to mental dis
cipline the study of the life Of birds Is
probably a much better mental train
ing than the study of dead languages
or mathematics. In the inspiring field
! of biography the lives of Audubon and
| Wilson-our most distinguished bird
students-are as stirring and rouse as
much interest and emulation as the
lives of any of the warriors whom