West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1915-08-12
"what DO You thInk ot 500 and 5000

an acre Tor rentF sam asked when be
had finished reading They've got TO
raise something on that lnnd. haven't
theyT'
Il should say they hnver' exclaimed
Bill
That afternoon ut oklock Bill
Googe came by for Sam. AMI the two
put or down the creek 20 Hkh for the
perch and cat that were TO be fonnd
In the blue pools OF the little stream
Bill had intended 20 take his shotgun
along. but found that hc was out OF
powder and so had To leave or that
part of the sport.
They hadn't gone far when un old
quail with her brood or young ones.
just old enough TO fly. rose out or the
grass I'm front or them with loud
whir OF wings and sailed Off into a
nearby thicket
"They's goin' TO be some good hunt
In hero this fall and winter" Bill
Googe remarked.
You're a farmer. aren't you. BilIY
Sam asked
rou askin' that for2" Bin inquired. sur.
prlSeu ut inc question:
"Wen, farmer ought not TO XIII a
farmers friends. ought heT"
"Sure. he oughtn'tT George replied.
well. you just take II from me that
those Quails and nearly all the other
birds that live around here are gooc
friends OF ours. We ought not to kill
them. md we ought not TO allow 9th
a 20 a., IN ss
"Why. didn't think n quail was any
good TO us except to eat" said Bill.
$50 far as any one knows" Sam OK.
planned. they're the only bird that de-
stroys tho potato beetle. They eat all
they can find. and they do US a good
turn every time they gobble one. More
than that. every single quail eats thou
sands upon thousands OF boil weeyils.
Some people used to argue that quail
didn't eat anything except grain. But
we know better now. They eat In
sects Of all kinds. as well as weed
seed"
IF that's so they ought not to be
killed." said Bill
"Of course not" said Sam we
don't have any idea how much good
they do us. 1t ought to be against the
law to XIII quail Mt any time. AS II
Is, they say insects destroy one-tenth
or oil we produce. II VIC were to kill
oil the birds there'd be such a plague
OF insects that they'd kill everything
all tho trees and vegetation of all
kinds"
Farther on Bill saw a woodpecker
hammering Justify on a dead tree. He
stopped and pointed with his finger.
"Bet could knock i'm OFF with a rifle
from here" he said
Don't ever do It." cautioned Sam.
Hes another friend"
What" exclaimed Bill. "a wood.
pecker kills trees"
mo, he doesn't" said sam. lie saves
trees A woodpecker never bores hole
In tree for fun He's after worms or
making himself n home. and he makes
his home in dead trees. When he
bores into n green tree he's after a
worm every time. and he always gets
him The hole the bird makes will
grow up. but II the worm stays it'll
XIII the tree. One woodpecker will GO
over GOO trees in day and examine
them for bugs. egg deposits and worms.
1t doctors the tree inside and out /
saw woodpecker 70 over nearly ev-
cry tree in our orchard"
well, now. / didn't know that" said
Bill II been KNOWN woodpeckers all
my life, but 1 never paid no attention
TO 'em. Guess I won't shoot no more
Of 'em."
TO tell the truth" Sam went on,
there are mighty few birds or animals
but what do more good than harm. !
believe the common old house cats kill
more birds and chickens than all the
Varmints put together. think It's a
good deed to kill n cat whenever you
find one. There are two kinds OF
hawks-the cooper and the sharp shin.
ned-that are bad to kill birds and
chickens. These two hawks look alike.
They are small. The females are a
mOttled brownish color, and the males
are n dull blue. It's q good thing 10
XIII them whenever you get q chance
The other hawks and owls don't dc
much harm. and they do lots OF good
because they live mostly on rats and
mice and such things. Once in awhile
an owl Will bother chickens. but it's
only when its regular food Is scarce.
Its pretty much the same way
about the fox. mink. weasel and skunk
once In awhile one OF these varmints
VIII get to be bad after chickens. But
we could hardly do without them be
cause they keep down the swarms OF
Held mice. rabbits, grasshoppers. crick
cts, hornets and wasps"
"Where'd you find out these things p
asked BIZ. II know they're true when
/ hear you say EN-. but somehow
never did think OF 'em before"
I've learned n little by reading. ii
Sam told him. but mostly by keeping
my eyes and ears open when I'm Out
In the woods and fields. Sister and
Ike TO study plants and animals. espe
cialy plants We're going ~ take q
correspondence course In botany next
year In the state university. Florence
says she's going to be florist. and
want 10 know all about plants. so
can farm"
(To be continued)
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