The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-29
THE ORIGINAL
 WHITE WINGS
GulIs Merit Protection As ScaVengers on SeacOast - Many Render Important In land Services to. Agriculture.

The term "tgu1I' usually is asso-
 ciated in the popular mind only with the long-winged swimmers seen along l the salt water shores and in coast
 harborS. There are represented in
 the United States, however, twenty two species or sub-species of gulls, in l cIudng the gu11-Ike birds known as
 skuas and jaegers. Of these some are
 true inland birds, frequenting prairies
 marshes and inland lakes. Floclzs o1 l gu11s on the waters of our harbors
 or following the wake of vessels are
 a, familiar sight but not every obser- | yer of the graceful motions of the l bird is aware of the fact that gu11s are the original white wings"
 | As sea scavengers they welcome as food dead fish, garbage, and offa1 of | various sorts, and their services in
 cleaning up such material are not to
 be. regarded lightly. It will, however, surprise many to 1earn that some of the gull family render important in- | land service, especially to agriculture. | At least one species. the California i gull, is extremely fond of field mice, l and during an outbreak of that pest in Nevada, in 1907-9 hundreds of gulls 1 assembled in and near the devastat-
 ed alfalfa fields and fed entirely on
 mice, thus lending the farmers ma
 teria1 aid in their warfare against the pestiferous little rodents. The l skua also feeds mice and lem l mings. Several species of gu1lS ren- der valuable service to agriculture by l destroying insects also, and in spring | hundreds of F7ranklin,s gulIs in Wis | consin and the DaRotas follow the plowman to pick up the insect larvae I uncovered by the share.
 That at least one community has not been unmindful of the substantial ] debt it owes the gull is attested in l Salt Lake City, where stands 8 mon | OIJr Inv of two gulIs, erected by the people of that city ssin grateful remem- brance" of the signal service rend- cred by these birds at a critical time in the history of the community. For three consecutive years-f848, 1849, and 1850-black crickets by millions 1 threatened to ruin the crops upon which depended the very lives of the settlers. Large flocks of gulIs came to the rescue and devoured vast mum bers of the destructive insects, un- til the fields were entirely freed from them.
 It is no wonder that the sentiment of the people of Utah as reflected through their laws affords gal1s the fullest protection.
 Bird Reservations
 lOf the 6s bird reservations. some islands i'll the Great Lakes are visit ed by the gulls in migration and ire Ilquented by them during the breeding season. In these reservations the birds find safety from human mo1es- tation and local wardens have endea- vored to reduce their wild native en- enies to minimum
 5NAmong the birds frequenting these reservations are the glaucous-w winged, western, herring, California. and laughing gulls- Thus these reserva- tions protect several of the most i'm portant species of North American gulls.
 Through the efforts of individuals and the National Association of Au- dubon societies, guards. and wardens until it is probable that there is no important colony from Maine to Flor ida not guarded during the breeding season A few colonies are protected on the Gulf Coast, and on the Oregon scoast breeding places are guarded by State wardens. As a result of this protection herring gulIs along the coats of Maine have increased consid7 erab1y, while laughing gul1s are be- ginning to be common once more tn various localities where they had been almost externinated. <
 Legal Protection
 Fully as important for the protec- the enactment of State laws prohibit ing their killing at any time of year and of laws prohibiting the sale Of their plumage. Gulls, with their close allies, the terms, have been among the gteatest sufferers from the millinery trade. As is Us: ally tie ease, the birds were shot tha breeding grounds during the height of the nesting season, thus causing the Heath nor o71Iy of the parent birds, but in suring the death of tine young bjr3s ny sgering starvation. Some years ago fle public awoke to the barbarity or such slaughter, and after much q agitation New Jersey in ts5l.t enact ed the first effective State law prohibit- ing hs killing of guIts This example has been followed b.. other states In- 5tii rt w--19 1 5--therc are 40 Stsrtes which protect gut.s all the year. Louisiana pr otects them during the breedi1 2 season. F'ebrpary 1 to August i. asl1ile five States -=Tontans. Idaho, Nevaosa, Arizona and New Mexico-j of year.
 en bird is to remove the temptation way to sop the killing of gulls for the millinery trade is to prohibit the sale of gulls wings and plumage. so that the plume hunter can find no market for his spells. To California belongs the credit of incorporating in the game laws of 1895 the first law in this country prohibiting the sale of gulls pIumage for millinery purposes. Many states followed this lead until in 1910, NeW York, enacted the most