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THE BIRDS AND THE FORESTS.
In the economy of nature the feathered
branch of the animal kingdom and the
major portion of the vegetable world
are over one and inseparable ; one was
created for the other ; the life and well
being of each depend upon the ability
of its mate to protect it from insidious
foes , tireless in their efforts to destroy
first one and then the other.
While we are aware that upon the
arid plains a few birds exist and that
some are born in the frozen , treeless ,
Arctic wastes and follow the billows of
the sea in search of food , apparently as
free from attachment to forests as are
the fish upon which they daily feed , yet
upon general principles , and in general
terms , forests are as necessary to the
well being of birds , as are the birds in
ch'spensable for forest preservation.
I propound a mathematical proposition
which is capable of conclusive demon
stration. Given an old field , a worm
fence and a bevy of birds ; the invariable
result will be a hedge row of trees and
shrubs , bearing fruits and nuts , edible
to the winged tribes of the locality.
The birds , creators of the forest ,
become also its protectors , and as a
sequence their existence is maintained
by the fruits of their own labors.
The Birth of a. Forest.
Nature and man have different methods
of forest planting. Nature is deliberate ,
man always in haste. Nature begins
with the seed , man demands a tree
already grown , to start with , the larger
the tree the better. Nature designs
variety , all sorts of trees mingled
together , some of economic worth , many
being valueless for commercial uses.
We view a forest : A hurricane
sweeps through the wood leveling the
timber by a single blast : miles of terri
tory are cleared of all forest growths.
Time passes : The dead trunks feed
the fire which completes this work of
destruction.
Nature abhors a barren waste and in
time begins the work of restoration.
Birds fly across the treeless plain , bearing
food for themselves and their young and
deposit hero and there such seeds as
compose their food. Each stump serves
as a perch for one after another of these
songsters ; every rock and crag make
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favorite stopping places about which
numerous seeds are sown.
Then squirrels come with their store
of nuts for winter use , selecting choice
spots for store-houses which become well
filled as these graceful creatures ply
often from yonder nut trees to their
hiding places.
The wind blows briskly , and thickly
fly the downy thistle , the cottony seeds
of the willow and populus families ;
whirling with rapidity come the heavier
winged seeds of liriodendron , ashes and
maples , which alighting here and there ,
bury then : heads neath the soft mud of
the water soaked soil ; further on the
lighter seeds of elm are wafted , strewhig
the ground as with snow.
Seeds of herbaceous plants are scattered
hither and thither as the winds and
birds gather them up from the verdant
spots , to be strewn where there are none.
Gently the falling leaves from the
adjoining forests , spread a light cover
hiding the scattered seeds and affording
protection from the elements. Soon the
suowflakes fly thick and fast ; a mantle
covers the land. As the surface is
melted by the sun and frozen when
night comes on , the snow crust forms
an ideal play ground for the wind ,
which shattering the seeds from cones
of hemlock , pine and spruce , drives
them fiercely over the snow until they
are caught by some obstacle.
Spring comes , with rains ; the rushing
waters overflow their banks , picking up
the twigs with clinging seeds , bear them
further down the stream , and spreading
over the treeless wastes , deposit them to
sink into the yielding soil. With the
warm , life giving sunshine of spring the
seeds thrust downward their rootlets
while upward reaches'a bud , when two
tiny leaves appear as harbingers of
spring.
And thus a forest is born. Not in a
day , or a year , for nature ] takes her own
time and methods to accomplish her
objects , yet in due time a natural forest
covers the spot which accident or
design had made barren. Here are
beech , ash ox\ maple , there are a clump
of elms , a walnut and hickory alternat
ing with blackberry briars and elder ,
hemlock with pine ; trees of mammoth
proportions and shrubs of low degree ;
ginseng , violet and twining grape strive
for space to spread their roots and dis
play their peculiar attractions.
Yonder chestnut will afford abundant
nuts for boys and squirrels ; these hack-
berries , cherries , grapes and elderberries
will feed the birds which planted them ;
that oak may become a gnarled monarch
among whose branches birds will twitter
their songs of love , build their nests ha
safety and feed uponjits countless acorns ,
which , as if to acknowledge its depen
dence upon the birds and small animals ,
it supplies in such abundance.
Certain birds plant nuts and acorns
with systematic regularity , burying
