The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-04-16
TALKS ABOUT THE BIRDS|
TELLS WHY THEY ARE VANISH
ING FROM FARMS.
They Have No Suitable Place to Hide
and Nest Now Like in the Olden

and Nest Now Like in the Olden
Times.
Capt. Charles, Petty, the accom-
plished editor of the Spartanburg
vanishing of the birds from the
farms. Capt. Petty is an old gentle
man who has been very close OBJ
server of events, and what he says is
entitled to weight. Here is an arti-
Gle on the vanishing of birds from
his pen that will be read with inter-
est:
Our lawmakers and Audubon socie-
ties seem to think that the birds have
only one enemy which is thinning
them out and that is the hunter
There is another cause for their dis
appearance which the wise friends of
! birds have not explained. They grad
ually disappear in neighborhoods
where there is neither hunting nor
trapping. Some of the older people
of the Piedmont may remember a
time back in the forties when wild
pigeons came to this section by the
thousand and ten thousand. 1t was
a common thing to hear the honk of
the wild goose as he was flying south
ward. 1t was usual for them to stop
on some stream and remain day or
two to pick up food.
Some of the smaller migratory
birds visited US and remained
through the winter until the warm
days of spring warned them that it
was time to muster their forces and
seek summer homes farther north.
Small birds of every hue and note
could be seen in forest and field.
The ploughman in the spring of the
year was never out of sight of blue
bird, woodpecker, dove or some other
feather friend ready to destroy any
worm or grub his plough turned up.
But all that is changed. No morning
concert now cheers him as he turns
the furrow. He may not see or hear
a bird for days. They have, simply
disappeared.
Two years ago the writer was
watching the birds on farm near
Gaffney. He allowed no one to shoot
or trap them. There were no bird
hunters on adjoining farms. There
were two hundred acres or more of
woods, fine old fields, swamps and
thickets. Small grain was raised on
the farm. In February there were
about ten covies of partridges on the
farm that could be located. There
may have been more. 1t was expect
ed that there would be hundreds of
young ones in tie fall Of the year.
But there were fewer than in the
spring. They had just wandered
away.
Last spring there was only coyey
or two on the farm and not single
one to be seen in the fall. The doves,
woodpeckers, and sapsuckers have all
gone. 1t is seldom that blue bird
is seen. Even the house martens and
bee martens are never seen, and they
are great friends of the farmer. At
ter harvest small grain left on the
ground will remain until winter be-
cause there are no birds to eat it.
Foxes and rabbits have also gone
with the birds in many sections.
The crow, which was once very abun-
dant, has been greatly thinned. Only
a few are seen now.
1t is easy to understand why birds
are very scarce when all the land is
cleared and there are no breeding
and hiding places. Those which nest
in holes in dead trees will leave a
farm where there are few trees of
any sort. The partridge and many
smaller birds will not stay where
there are no secret hooks and corners
for making their nests. Legislation
and birds protection societies will not
prevent the gradual disappearance of
our feathered friends. These facts
are given for the information of the
people who think that hunters and
trappers are the only agents in the
destruction of birds.