Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-08
APPEAL TO STOP
BIRD SLAUGHTER
Farm Institute Bulletin Says
Insects Cost Us 81, 000,-
100000 Each Year.

| S
Is 1t worth while to try to save oul
forests, our shade trees, our fruit trees
If so, We must stop the killing o.
insec'-eating birds.
| Careful scientists tell us that If all
insect-eating birds were destroyed
the whole continent would within three
years become absolutely uninhabitable
by reason. OF the myriads of insects
that would spring up and devour every
living thing.
The gypsy mo:h, the brow tail moth,
the leopard moth, the elm tree beetle
and the tent caterpillar have killer
millions of trees in the past few years,
and today they are imperilling every
tree on the continent. The only W ?
to check these insects is to stop the
killing of insect-eating birds, and let
them increase to their normal Numbers.
Ninety percel-t of the normal bird
life of this country has already been
destroyed and the other ten percent
will go in a few years unless drastic
measures are employed to stop the
slaughter The farmers and fruit
growers of this country are losing over
$1,000, 100000 year by reason of the
ravages of insects. Here are a few
items in this appalling expense
account:
The cotton growers of Texas are los
ing 100000 to 100000 a year by
reason of the ravages of the boil Vice.
vii, and all because the quail and the
prairie chicken, the natural enemies
of that bug have been practically ex-
terminated, in that state.
That wheat growers of the United
States are losing over $100,000,000 a
year by reason of the ravages of the
chinch bug, because the quail, the |
natural enemy of that big has been al |
most etxerminated.
The farmers of the middle eastern |
states are paying out S15,000,000 a |
year for paris green to put on their |
potatoe vines. Why? Because the |
quail, the natural enemy of that bug. |
has been killed off.
Each of the great apple producing |
states are paying s1,000,000 to s3,000,-
BOO year for spraying apple trees to
keep down the coddling moth. Why?
Because the woodpeckers, the sap
the robins, the blue jays, the
blue birds, the orioles, the tangiers
mi other birds that formerly preyed
IN that insect have been killed off, and
every man, woman and child who eats
IN apple or a potato helps to pay for
his poison.
. A quail taken in a cotton field in
Texas had in his craw the remains of
Ill !
n a potato field in Pennsylvania had
n his craw the remains of 101 potato
Jugs Another taken in an Illinois
vheatfield had in his craw the remains
4 over 1900 chinch bugs. The bob
White has been known to eat 135 diff
erent kinds of insects, many of them
he most Injurious we have, the potato
eetle, the cucumber beetle, cut worm,
rmy worm, wire worm, chinch bug,
orn ear worm, the cotton boil weeyil
nd many others. Careful students of
he subject estimates that a quail will
at an average of $4,000 insects and
,OO0,000,000 weed seeds in a year
bout IA pounds of insects and 100
ounds of weed seeds.
It~is estimated that the birds dur
lg their stay in Illinois each season
esroy more than 100000 bushels
noxious insects. Think of the con-
If the birds were all extermi-
ated. And yet the slaughter goes on.
'arents send their boys to Sunday
chool where they learn the beautiful
ible stories, but they allow them to j
ONE home and take their air rifles and j
IToot the robins that have young
irds in the nests.
Prominent naturalists agree that
ats destroy more birds than any other
nimal except man. DR. Fisher says !
lat 100000 birds are killed in New ,
ork state each year by cats.
A well known naturalist estimates
lat the birds OF Massachusetts eat
| 900 bushels OF insects every day
summer; another that ITO carloads
insects are eaten every day by the
Irds OF Nebraska.
To hold the insects in check we need Il
have our gardens, fields, pastures b
nd roadsides literally alive with these .
seful birds. Il
There are 1o7 species OF bugs that
rey on elm trees. 264 that attack
1plar. 396 that prey on the birches. A