Arizona republican., 1915-05-24
Where the People
 May Have Hearing
THE DESTRUCTIVE WHITENING

i To the Editor of the Republican: ] Sir:-A few days ago Mr Willard,
 our game warden published an ar l ticle in the Republican, concerning
 the law as regards shooting of White Wings. l hardly think that MT. Willard is Justified in making | some of the remarks he did, denounc- ing any one who might shoot or
 kill in any way, these birds prevlous | to July 18th.
 1 MT. Willard goes on to say that any one who kills these birds at ! this season Chat is between June | lst and July 15th) has not left the | savage state.
 Game laws properly made are ne- cessary in each and every commun- ity. but too often they only favor
 the city sportsman.
 l That law which applies to White 1 Wings certainly was not made by or | Tn favor of the farmer, (whO by the way, is the real game producer) You say, why should the farmer Il not help protect the White Wings :? I Here are two reasons: First, the !; White Wings are grain feeders, liv- {! ing entirely on the small grains, | valley. q mean the Buckeye valley,
 in which l live.) Now. when I say | they feed on the grain l do not mean 1 that they eat a few kernels now and 1 then. No. they are no small eaters: | in fact thew simply gorge them | selves. These birds feed two or l three times a day and I have never ! examined one yet that had just been ! feeding that did not have a bunch of l kernels in tits crop large as a walnut. You say what does that I amount to in a wheat field?
 I It wouldn't amount to muon II | there were only a few birds, but | when they come in flocks like black | birds, hundreds of them, it does amount to something and that is the | way they come. If you doubt this. ! ask you to ride through the val 1 ley any day and take notice l I have examined shock after shock | of wheat that had been nearly strip ped of the kernels by these pests. ! Second: They are not an insect l destroyer, sand do not benefit the | farmer. It is right and proper to 1 protect such birds the quail which | destroy lots of insects and weed seed. I have yet to find a White Wing i with bug or insect of any kind in it's crop. always it is filled with | grain and the plumpest and best | kernels at that. You say why not | hire a man to keep them off the | fields if they do so much damage? Shooting is about the only thing | that will keep them away, but we dare not shoot for fear of the law. 1 Then they do not benefit the farmer enough to pay him to go to the l trouble of keeping them off through | the season.
 | Now, do not get the understanding | that l would like to see every White | Wing killed, but the farmer should have means of protecting him. self The White Wings are getting l thicker each year and the damage they do is more pronounced each year We are raising grain to feed civilian population of Europe, not the iwhite Wings of Mexico. Do not take my word for it. but ask any rancher in the valley who raises | grain. I also notice in the Republi
 | can some time ago an article to the effect that the state was liable to
 pass a law making a closed season
 on jack rabbits. Now, of all the
 l strange things I ever heard, this
 beats them all.
 | Do you, reader, realize that the
 | jack rabbit is one of the worst pests
 you will find anywhere.
 l We have in Arizona thousands of acres of desert land which will be
 put in cultivation and the jack will
 give the new settler more trouble
 than any other one thing. They are
 not only death to young trees, but
 will not hesitate to dig young alfalfa
 up by the roots, in order to feed on
 the roots of which they seem to con-
 slider very dainty morsel
 I have seen stand of alfalfa ruined in this way. The jack rab-
 bit is no good to the farmer what
 ever. Possibly some people eat them,
 but the ordinary person would have ! to be starved to such a diet. No, by all means they should not be pro
 tected in fact they should be des- | troyed I would like to hear from others on the White Wing question A READER. | Buckeye, Ariz., May 19.