Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1917-05-10

Il
eight potato beetles and $50 weed seed.
James Henry Rice, of Summerville, S. c.,
writes that by protecting bobwhiies and
encouraging them TO breed in and about
his potato fields, he has secured practical
immunity from the potato beetle.
"These examples are quite enough to
show that birds in sufficient numbers may
become important checks on injurious in
sects. 1t is difficult to compute the value
OF birds to agriculture, but William r.
Oates, State Fish, Game and Forestry
Warden ofMichigan, has placed the value
OF insectivorous and seed-eating birds OF
that State at Sl0,000,0O0 per year, and
doubts if an equivalent could be secured
in human labor for twice that amount.
''lf we assume that a bird, during its
normal lifetime. eats but $1,000 insects,
each cat that kills fifty birds in year
saves an enormous host. OF insects, the
number varying in each case with the
potential length of life OF The bird had il
not been killed by the cat. A cat that
kills only ten birds annually protects a
swarm OF insects II is fortunate that
some few of the insects commonly eaten
by birds iced on injurious insects, other
wise the destruction OF birds by cats
would be even more serious"
Needless to say, the figures showing
what the insects can do TO hurt the coun-
try when they are left alone are even
more sensational
A potato bug remember that potatoes
are now S4 bushel because of their
scarcity will produce fifty to sixty mil
lion more OF its kind in season; the
greenleafed louse, destructive TO hops,
fruits, and vegetables, reproduces al the
rate OF ten sextillon 10 the pair in one
season, while the natural increase of a
pair OF gypsy moths would defoliate the
United States in eight years. One hun
dred and seventy-six species of insects
attack the apple. peach, and cherry tree,
400 the oak, 100 the maple, and 300 the
coniferous trees, while larger number
feed upon cereals, grain and garden
crops.
But in spite OF all these unquestioned
facts and figures about cat and birds and
insects and damaged crops, there is no
State in the Union that has any law to
protect itself against the stray cat. Bills
for such laws are now pending in New
York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and
Massachusetts, and they have the sup
port OF the American Game Protective
Association, the Campfire Club, the Au-
dubon Societies, and many similar organl-
cations, in addition 10 the intelligent
farmers and the Cat lovers themselves.
The latter are willing to have the home
less, stray cats, The ones that do the most
damage, painlessly removed. and their
opposition TO the proposed laws has been
withdrawn because il is not intended 10
kill any household pets.
The bill now before the Joint Conser-
vation Committees OF The Senate and AS
sembly at Albany provides that no per-
son shall keep cat without license, TO
be issued by the county, city or town
clerk. The license fee is 80 cents and
the charge for issuing ii 25 cents. Every
licensed cat must be tagged and every
cat without tag is to be considered as
public nuisance and killed.
Although no State has taken action in
the matter, there has been community
experiment in Montclair, N j., which
may be taken as an object lesson else
where. Frederick K. Vreeland, who
lives in Montclair and is also member OF
the Campfire Clubs Conservation Com
mittee, undertook to. do some pioneer
anti-cat work in his home town.
"We discovered al the outset" said
Mr.. Vreeland; "that we had no legal au-
thorty as town TO compel the licensing
OF cats, so we dug up an old law pro-
hibiting the roaming OF hogs, cattle, and
other animals in the streets OF village
or town. That served the purpose, after
fashion. because il was easy enough
to consider stray cats as other animals,
and as such 700 have been impounded
and killed within The little more than a
year in which we have been at work.
$50 far every attempt TO have the mat
Ter covered by State legislation has been
met with considerable levity ar Trenton,
but bill is now pending in the New
Jersey Legislature giving broader powers
to the municipalities, and which, if pass
ed, will obviate the necessity OF the in
direct methods OF control we have had TO
adopt in Montclair. hope that eventual
ly similar laws will be passed in every
State CT the country"
The one argument most frequently
heard in behalf of the cat is that it kills
rats and mice. "But that is not good
argument" says Mr.. Vreeland. "Rat
dUO tillSC may DC SOt nv VI uldNh mOiS
thoroughly by the use OF traps or poison
or the Pasteur virus made for that pur-
pose, and the traps and the poison do
not destroy birds or carry disease. That
is another charge against the cat. Opin-
ions differ, and the work of getting evil
dence on the subject has not been carried
very far, but il is declared by many ply
sicians that cats do transmit disease
germs"
John Burroughs says that cats prob
ably destroy more birds than all other
animals combined. He believes that the
preservation OF birds involves the non-
preservation OF cats
DR.. Frark NJ. Chapman, of the Ameri-
can Museum OF Natural History, author
OF standard works or American ornithol-
ogy and the editor of "Bird-Lore," has