Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-31

California has good reason to envy
Florida, this Winter, for all the PreSl-
dents-present, future and would-be-
are fiocking there just as inStinctively
as migratory birds fly from cold Winter
regions to balmy sunshine. There goes
ex-Gov. AL Smith for recreation after
his strenuous campaign, only to md
that President-elect Hoover had beat
him to 1t, so they meet to swap stories
of how even the birds loved them and
proved their devotion by Hooking TO
their campaign trains. Mr.. Smith had
a funny story about Growing rooster,
which was given him before-not after
election. The rooster no longer crows.
Not to be outclassed, President Cool
idge has gone to Florida to deliver a
speech, tomorrow, on what he knows
about birds, and the Importance OF bird
refugees where all feathered creatures
NAV be safe from the hunter. The spe-
ciai occasion will be the dedication OF
bird refuge established by Mr.. Ed
ward Box, who proposes to import
f1amingoes and all kinds OF birds to
that land Of flowers and eternal youth.
II X 4 Il
How times have changed the atti-
tude of mankind as to birds! Hall
century ago, nobody esteemed the feath-
cred inhabitants of the air otherwise
than as pests. and laws were passed by
all States intended to incite their de-
struction. Then scientists began to
study the mission of the birds, and dis
covered something Of their habits in
feeding upon pestiferous insects; today
men know that without birds the insects
would destroy mankind by destroying
grain and making life miserable for hu-
mainly. If Pharaoh had had enough
birds, possibly the insect pests would
have been controlled and his Israelites
might be still Egyptian slaves.
X + y
It remains for DR.. Bartsch, ornithol-
ogist of the Smithsonian Institution
to relate a new story OF the character
Of one bird. All through the Winter
wherever bird-lovers maintain feed
ing boards where birds may come to
find their daily bread. the male car
dinal bird Is king, permitting no other
to approach while he Is feeding. Not
even the female may dine in the pres
ence of her lord and master; that Is
beneath his dignity. DR.. Bartcsh has
| witnessed the cardinal take an English
sparrow by the scruh Of the neck anc
| walk to the edge of the feeding board
| and there drop the inpudent INTRUDER
over to the abysmal depths. Luckily
| the sparrow carries its own sparrow
chute. Mrs Cardinal knows more than
| an English sparrow, so she keeps dis
| creetly away during the Winter, but as
| Spring approaches. when the young
girls fancy lightly turns to proper
Spring dreams, she has the courage Of
| her convictions and does not hesitate
to land on the same feeding board with
her mate.
Does he act humanity and talk rough
| ly to his wife? Not at all. He may look
surprised, but she sweetly smiles at him
opening wide her bill. and he meekly
feeds her. just as she will feed the
Youngsters in few weeks. That proves
that birds know the cardinal points Of
the seasons, and he Says 1t with
grain"
| For two and a half centuries aftel
the American Colonies were settled, the
popular idea of birds was that they
were like Indians-none good but deaC
ones. It Is 70 years since Audubon
died, but within the memory Of mer
still in their youth-namely, about 1888:
this notion began to change. through
the educative activities of the American
Ornithologists' Union, and Congress.
made a very small appropriation to en-
able the Department Of Agriculture II
study the economic value Of birds
States then awoke to the enormou!
losses agriculture had suffered through
the discriminating slaughter of birds
and 1t was realized that many specie!
are beneficial-indeed, indispensable, II
the machinery of Nature.
| X X X
The usefulness of birds Is varied. On
class sweeps the air of mosquitoes, gnat
and midges. Swallows skim above wa
ter. fields and marshes; purple martin
patrol our gardens, swifts look after TIL
roofs and nighthawks and whip-poor