Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1916-03-15

Century Club are to be congratu-
lated upon affording the public, at
this special season, the opportun-
icy TO hear about our birds. At
the time when these little friends
are just beginning to return from
the South, is a splendid moment
for beginning of the study of
feathered neighbors. All over the
country, the campaign for bird
preservation is being carried for
ward, with more vigor than ever
before. And the impetus is due
not to chance but to an awakened
realization for the necessity of
such work. The slaughter of
birds grows more appalling each
year, and with it the menace to
our crops and trees. 1t is estimat-
ed that insects in the United
States cause loss to agriculture
of more than half a billion dollars
each year. Had the destruction
Of birds been forbidden and
guarded against in our early days
the nation would have been spared
much Of the work and expense of
the present fight for forest preSer-
walton. Because we have failed to
protect the wonderful little agents
which He has supplied, all grow
ing things have suffered.
We give our boys rifles and
guns, yet we weep at the destruc-
ton of our foliage and are horri-
fed at the expenses we are called
upon to meet for its preservation.
ooh, no boys shoot BIRDS" said
young man recently when it was
suggested to him that a proposed
outlay Of several thousand dollars
for shade trees in his city would
be useless unless the boys in the
community were taught to protect
the birds. Then the young man
stopped minute. eyes looking
into space: Eyes, expect they do.
When I was a kid my greatest JOY
was an air rifle, and l killed every
bird I could see. And l was no
worse than the average boy, and
much better brought up than
many" The youngsters need to
be educated to the economic as
we'll as the aesthetic Importance
of caring for the birds.
DR.. Rowan has made the study
Of birds his chief recreation for
the last fourteen years. His
talk was illustrated with colored
slides, made from actual photo,
graphs of birds and their nests
The birds were divided into
classes according to their feeding
habits: insectivorous, seed, fish
and game.
The first bird thrown upon the
screen. was the Robin, known anc
loved by everyone. 'In spite Of
the talk to the contrary among
our English cousins" the speaker
declared, this bird is quite the
equal Of his English namesake.
Already he has been with US {
week, and he stays as long as hi
can in the fall. Far from a medi
OGRE songster, his range is wild,
from the sweet, plaintive note
heard just before shutdown to the
call for his mate in the early
dawn. The robin has ravenou:
appetite. He has been known K
devour siXty-eight worms a day
a quantity which, if laid out, enc
to end, would make string four
teen feet long. His cousin, thu
Wood Robin keeps close to thu
woods, where it builds its nest'
among the underbrush or in ;
nearby pasture. Its nest usually
lies close to the ground; its son!
is feeble and uncertain, not il
keeping with the size of the bird
The Bluebird, one of the frs
birds to arrive in the spring
often nests in hole in an apple
tree. The bird uses soft, delic
ious note to win his bride, thel
goes forth from place to place il
search of a home. The female, a
first shy, becomes pert and hare
to please, until just as her love-
is about to give up in despair sh'
suddenly accepts nesting place
Sometimes the bird can be enticet
into our very yards, by empty til
cans, turned on their side, il
which she will build her nest.
THE Catbird." the speaker de
clared. sis sometimes called
hooking bird, for it does at time
seem to initiate some of its neigh
bors." In mating season it is
fine singer, representing a natura
rather than a trained songster