The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-01-11
EAT INSECT PESTS
e1RO9 ARE REAL FRIENDS OF
THE AoRIcULTURlsT.
investigations Have Proved Beyond All
Doubt That Feathered Creatures
Take High Place In Ranks Of
Farmert' Helpers.

There seem never to have been q
line when Americans as a people were
diving so much thought to birds as
low. The sentimental virtues Of birds
md their economic uses r being wrt::-
ZEN of frequently and extensively by
professional and amateur biologists
md ornithologists, and ever a vast
number Of bird observers of perhaps
limited professional or technical at
ailments in this department of SCI
.nce are writing and talking at length
n behalf. of the birds.
The discussion Of the economic val.
ues Of birds is one of the questions Of
serious Importance to the whole coun-
try. 1t has been pointed out by students
Of this subject that a tree swallows
stomach recently examined contained
40 c~hinchbugs and fragments of many
others, besides ten other species of in
sects. The stomach of a bank swallow
showed that 1t contained 6S cotton boil
weevils, n of the very dangerous and
destructive insect pests of the United
States. Thirty-ive cliff swallows had
eaten an average of Is boil weevils
each. Two stomGchs Of pine siskins
from California contained 10 black
olive scales and 800 plant lice. The
stomach of q kildeer taken in Texas
contained more than 800 larvae. A
dicker's stomach held % big grubs. A
night hawks stomach contained "a
May beetles, the adult form of the
white grub. A New York night hawk
had eaten "a clover-leaf weevils and
557 ants, and another night hawk, $40
grasshoppers, 50 bugs. three beetles.
two wasps and a spider. A big-tailed
grackle taken in Texas had eaten in
one meal about 100 cotton boil weevils
besides other Insects. A r%ing-neck
pheasant, a bird which the state OF
New York is taking great interest il
propagating, showed upon examination
Of the crop that it contained 8,CW
seeds of c~hickenweed and a dandelion
head. More than 1900 seeds have beer
found in a single ducks stomach taken
in Louisiana. . ..
The Investigations by the United
States biological survey and the bio.
logical and agricultural bureaus Of the
various states leave no room for doubt
that birds play an important relation
to agricultural interests, though there
often seems a tendency to dwell on the
harm that even a much-despised Eng.
lish sparrow has Its part to perform
in protecting the agricultural Interests
Of the United States, and the bureau
Of the biological survey has given 8
great deal of attention to this much.
abused bird. 1t has collected then
from all parts of the United States
and made an examination of 4,OC
stomachs, the results showing that
during the colder half of the year the
food Of these birds consists almost en-.
tirely Of seeds of weeds.
1t has been estimated by entomolo
gists that the annual loss caused H.
the United States by insects is $780,.
100000 and that were it not for birds
the loss would be much greater. Care
full students have said that without thu
aid Of our feathered friends successful.
agriculture would be impossible. The
amount of weed seed disposed Of BY
birds, In their depleted numbers, Is i'm
pressive, and everybody knows thai
the problem of weed destruction IL
very important to agricultural inter
ests.-Washington Star.