Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-20
This and That
By Charles E. TyaceweH
MSIYTEENTH STREET
SIXTEENTH STREET.

"SIXTEENTH STREET.
DO you think peanut butter hurts birds?
had q large flock Of birds. small ones;
suppose just common sparrows.
II put out for them every day small
package of peanut butter sandwiches, as they
are called. broke them up and distributed
the pieces.
TT was fun to watch the birds seize the
pieces and fly away with them sticking up
like little sails.
1.-THE sad fact. however. is that now all
my birds are gone.
II am wondering if killed them all. They
ate so greedily and seemed to appreciate the
little cookies, but since they are all gone I
am beginning to wonder.
"Yet I do not see what there is about
peanut butter to kill birds, but the fact Is
there is not q one at my feeding station
any more.
II shudder to think Of the havoc may
have caused to these innocent little things
In the guise Of trying to help them.
Tell me the truth and hope 1t will ease
my soul. Very truly. l. Mem"
. The chances are that the peanut butter
had nothing at all to do with the absence
Of the birds.
It is much more likely that the open winter
has sent them to other Spots where much
natural food is still available.
Some persons fear that if they feed the
birds the youngsters will become so used to
being fed that they cannot feed themselves.
world tn which there are so many real prob
lens, work up totally fantastic things to
worry over. Each worry is what the psy-
biologists call a neurosis Whatever one
calls . worry. whether it assumes the role
of compulsion, or just plain everyday
fretting, It often amounts to nothing at all.
actually. (Nothing. that is. except In the
mind Of the worrier. where 1t assumes gi-
gantic proportions) How to get rid Of these
compulsions is one Of the tasks OF PSYCHE
airy. Plain folk, who never 60 to such doc
tors and know very little about them, manage
the thing altogether differently. They just
worry and, If not too intense. such worry
seldom hurts them. It may do them good.
as q matter of fact. by occupying their minds
to the exclusion Of larger worries. 1t Is much
better, for instance. to worry over whether
one has caused the death of band OF spar
rows by feeding them peanut butter than to
be consumed with genuine concern over what
may happen by reason Of the invention and
Immoral handling Of the atom bomb.
Peanut butter is . concentrated food, not
too good for birds.
In nature they would never get such =
product.
It's gummy nature. 80 well known to small
boys who like peanut butter sandwiches, too,
Is not too good for the bird gullet.
But the chances are that no one bird.
especially a common sparrow. will get too
much Of it at time.
The others see to that.
When one seizes a cake in his bill and
flies away with 1t. it seems to the observer
that he has real load OF peanut butter,
and so he has, but any one who has watched
these hardy little fellows knows that what
|, one bird has is the envy of several other
birds.
No sooner does the fortunate specimen put
his cake down. to be able to swallow q
smaller bit, than two or three others rush
In and make Q grab for it.
Often enough one will seize the almost
intact cake and fly away with 1t. leaving
the original owner" to mourn his loss. In
most cases no one bird will manage to eat
enough peanut butter to injure itself.
Peanut butter sandwiches are not particu-
larry good wild bird food. They are too
expensive and too gumny. Peanut butter
should be fed very sparingly, If at all. Squir-
rels can become so groggy from eating this
strange food that they lie over on their sides
and gasp for breath.
AL in all. If one wants to feed peanuts,
the peanut hearts, to be purchased at hard
ware ana pet stores, are much to be pre-
ferred. or even peanuts In the shell, al
though the jays may carry away most OF
these. That makes no difference, however.
since some squirrel or other bird is likely to
md them. Little food goes to waste In ma
t,lre.