The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-07-22
I he Forum
MORE ABOUT BIRDS AND TREES

Editor Western News.
In last weeks column watching
on the Sidelines," / noticed two
items which should be of interest to
everyone, and especially to prop
erty owners.
The first is the timely warning
| by Mr. E. r. Rusher about the dan
ger to our trees and shrubbery from
aphides. They are sapsucking in
sects which work mostly on the I'M
| der side of leaves and at the end
of tWigs and often do much dam
age before the owner is aware of it.
The trees and shrubs become SO
weakened that If they do not die
outright they often winterkill. We
often hear persons speak of honey
dew dripping from the leaves. This
lis syrupy substance the aphides
exude and shows how the trees are
being robbed of their sap.
These plant lice multiply most
unbelievably fast during summer
because they bring forth their young
alive There are several groups or
species and the one that infests the
spruces does great damage, which
the trees are not able to overcome.
As to cutting down all balm OF
Gilead and cottonwood trees, this
IS a rather too drastic measure, as
many species of trees are made to
harbor aphis eggs Also these plant
lice are pest in cities and many
places where these trees do not
grow. Nature, however, has pro-
vided a balance, where man doesn't
interfere. The natural protection
of the trees are the birds.
This brings us to the second item
Boys Shooting Songbirds." This is
the third time this year the editor
has written kindly demonstrating
with the boys who persist in killing
songbirds, which bring so much
pleasure to those who love beauty.
The little ground sparrow, or west
ern field sparrow, the boys shot is a
most useful bird to man. 1t has
musical song, the tone pure and
sweet, and in the government
laboratory observation it was found
that Al per cent of their food con-
sisted of insects such as Weevils.
leafbettles, caterpillars, grasshop-
pers, flies and spiders. The other So
per cent consisted of seeds of crab
grass, chickweed, lambsquarter,
knotWeed, etc, all a menace to man.
If these boys, or their parents,
would go to the library and take
out some of the well illustrated
books on birds and read about the
usefulness of ones we see almost
every day, they would soon become
so interested in birds they would
find much pleasure in building
homes for them and in protecting
them. Most all of the birds which
inhabit our dooryards and gardens
are insect eaters and destroy an
quantity of aphides, cat
erpillars, mosquitoes, flies, moths.
grasshoppers and other destructive
insects.
On our lawn stand two silver
birch trees which were badly in
tested with aphis this summer and
never during the day would one
look at the trees without seeing
golden Warblers, vireas, kinglets, or
redstarts, busily cleaning aphides
rom the leaves. Ihey have succeed |
I'd in entirely freeing the trees of
he pests.
If kindly council will not aid |
hese boys in learning what is right |
n conduct, then more severe meas
Tres will have to be evoked There
S state law forbidding the killing
# wild birds. You will find this
aW in Section 1928 and the penalty
or its violation in Section 3706 of
he 1885 revised codes of Montana.
section 1928 provides any person
Who at any time shall hunt, cap
ure, kill, possess any wild birds
Their than game birds and a. few
apacious birds Is guilty of a mis-
emeanor and punishable by fine
f not less than $500 or more
nan $4,000 or by Imprisonment in