4E ;
2 Conservative.
A PLEA FOK THK TKOTKCTIOX OF
OUK lllltUS.
[ By Prof. Lawrence Bruncr , University of Ne
braska ] .
The fact tlmt insect depredations arc
increasing in extent each succeeding
year makes it plain to us that something
must bo clone to prevent it , and that
quickly. Wo have found to our sorrow ,
that although we are continually mak
ing increased efforts to destroy these
pests , our efforts avail but little , and the
destruction of our crops goes on. What ,
then , is to be done ? How can we be
released from this ever increasing strug
gle for existence ?
The answer is plain. Heed the ad
vice of the naturalist who has made a
stud } ' of the life-histories of the various
other living creatures in the world about
us. Do not condemn what he says with
out at least examining into it a little.
In his desire for bird protection the
naturalist is not prompted by sentiment
alone far from it ! Although from the
sentimental standpoint solely the friend
of birds would have sufficient grounds
for making such a request.
But if we can not take up the subject
of bird protection from , the humane
standpoint , if we have no chord of sym
pathy or sense of honor remaining , are
wo willing to adopt business principles
in our dealings with the birds ?
It is needless here for mo to state that
the insect life about us is numerous and
varied. We all know this to be too
true. Nearly , if not quitn , nine-tenths
of all animal forms belong hero , while
the individuals of many kinds are incal
culable. We know also that their
powers of reproduction are simply won
derful , being limited only by the
amount of food available , etc. Now
the disproportionate number of birds ,
on the other hand , with their "universal
distribution , the remarkable locomotive
power which enables them readily to
escape unfavorable conditions , and their
higher rate of life , requiring for their
maintenance an amount of food rela
tively enormous , " give to them , a signif
icance which few seem ever to have
realized.
Briefly told , the economic relation of
birds to man lies in the services which
they render in checking the undue in
crease of insects , the devouring of small
rodents , in destroying the seeds of nox
ious weeds , and by acting as scavengers
on land and water.
Those who have studied the subject
carefully have estimated that a loss
of nearly $400,000,000 is sustained
annually by the cultivators of the
soil from insect ravages in the United
States and Canada. This does not in
clude the damage done to ornamental
shrubbery , shade and forest trees , nor
to the grasses growing on our prairies.
' 'But if insects are the natural enemies
of vegetation , birds are the natural ene
mies of insects. "
"In the air swallows and swifts are
coursing rapidly to and fro , over in pur
suit of the insects which constitute their
sole food. When they retire , the nighthawks -
hawks and will take
whip-poor-wills up
the chase , catching moths and other
nocturnal insects which would escape
day-flying birds. Fly-catchers lie in
wait , darting from ambush at passing
prey , and with a suggestive click of
the bill returning to their post. The
warblers , light , active creatures , flutter
about the terminal foliage , and with al
most the skill of a humming-bird , pick
insects from , the leaf or blossom. The
The vireos patiently explore the under
sides of leaves and odd nooks and cor
ners to see that no skulker escapes. The
woodpeckers , nuthatches , and creepers
attend to the trunks and limbs , examin
ing carefully each inch of bark for in
sects' eggs and larvae , or excavating for
the ants and borers they hear within.
On the ground the hunt is continued by
the thrushes , sparrows , and other birds
that feed upon the innumerable forms
of terrestrial insects. Few places in
which insects exist are neglected ; even
some species which pass their earlier
stages or entire lives in the water are
preyed upon by aquatic birds. " *
In nearly every cose where the food
habits of our birds have been carefully
studied , do we find that the good done
far exceeds the possible harm that might
bo inflicted by our birds. Allowing
twenty-five insects per day as an aver
age diet for each individual bird , and
estimating that we have about one and
one-half birds to the acre , or in round
numbers 75,000,000 birds in Nebraska ,
there would be required 1,875,000,000
insects for each day's rations.
Again , estimating the number of in
sects required to fill a bushel at 120,000 ,
it would take 15,025 bushels of insects to
feed our birds for a single day , 937,500
bushels for CO days or 2,848,750 bushels
for 150 days. These estimates are very
low when wo take into consideration
the numbers of insects that various of
our birds have been known to destroy
in a single day. For example the stomachs
achs of four chickadees contained 1,028
eggs of cankerworms. Four others con
tained about COO eggs and 105 mature
females of the same insect. The stomach
ach of a single quail contained 101 potato
tate beetles ; and that of another up
wards of 500 chinch-bugs. A yellow-
billed cuckoo shot at six o'clock in the
morning contained forty-three tent
caterpillars. A robin had eaten 175
larvae of Kibio , which feed on the roots
of grasses , etc. , etc.
Birds , like all other animals , feed
upon that food which is most readily
obtained , hence the insectivorous Muds
"Chapman in "Bird Life. "
destroy those insects which are most
numerous the injurious species.
Estimating that there is a single grass
hopper , katydid , or cricket to each
squarn yard of surface , it would require
at least C50,000 bushels of these insects
to cover the state. Not taking into
account any of the myriads of other
insect forms nor the rapid rate of repro
duction which is going on among them ,
these alone would bo nearly one-third
enough insect food for our birds during
the year. This being true it is plain
that at least twice as many birds could
find the proper insect food in our state
each year.
A perusal of the various works that
have been written on the economic re
lations of birds to man will support the
statement that , if we were deprived of
the services of birds , the earth would
soon become uninhabitable.
In addition to the actual good that
birds do as recorded above in the de
struction of noxious insects , many of
them are engaged for at least one-half
of thn year in hunting out and devour
ing the seeds of various weeds and
other , to us , useless plants. Such is the
mission of the various sparrows , snow
birds , finches , and long-spurs which
often occupy our fields in flocks of
thousands during the winter mouths.
If , after ascertaining such truths as
the above regarding birds , wo continue
to slaughter them , it is not dxio to
thoughtlessness on our part. Wo do
it wilfully and maliciously. The school
boy may thoughtlessly rob a bird's nester
or kill a bird or two It is the duty of
teacher and parent alike to teach him
better , to show him how wrong it is to
destroy life uselessly. It is especially
their duty to prevent the destruction of
birds. If each schoolboy in the state of
Nebraska were to rob a nest of say five
bird's eggs , what would be the result ?
Yet the making of bird-egg collections
is getting to be such a "fad" that , al
most every boy enters into it more or
less zealously at some time or another.
Some single collectors in a single season
take 500 or more eggs. This should be
stopped. We can study birds and their
nests without destroying either. A live
bird is more interesting than a dead one.
An egg left in a nest where it will in
duo time become a live creature is of
more interest than an empty egg-shell.
We , as citizens of the United States ,
pride ourselves on being highly civil
ized and humane. We are in some di
rections , in others not. We also claim
to bo intensely practical and business
like in everything. Are wo ?
If thou art worn and hard besot
With Borrows , that thou would'at forget ;
If thou would'at read a lesson , that will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from
sleep ,
Go to the woods and hills ! No team
Dim the Bweofc look that Nature wears.
Longfellow.
