72 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



duced, which means greater necessity for bird help in keeping in check 

 the insect pests, and yet owing to tlie agencies destroying bird life, we 

 have onl}' one bird today where there were ten, twenty years ago. It 

 is apparent that the time is fully ripe to conduct a most strenuously 

 active campaign toward the curbing of the destruction of birds and 

 the conserving of those which we now have. 



The Audubon societies, national, state and local, are attempting to 

 accomplish this by educating the people through the public press and 

 the lecture platform. To this end was maintained the museum exhibit 

 at the West Michigan State Fair this year and later at the museum 

 calling attention to the value of birds and some of their enemies. Apple 

 growers were shown that t went}' -five species of birds destroy three- 

 quarters of the winter brood of the codling moth, and by so doing save 

 twenty-five million dollar's worth of apples each year. More birds 

 would save more apples. 



FACTORS THAT DESTROY BIRDS. 



The most important preventable factors in bird destruction are the 

 gun, the cat and the destroying of nesting places and natural food. 



A long step in advance has been taken in eliminating the first of 

 these by the enactment of the gun-license law. It has long been recog- 

 nized by bird conservationists that the foreign element, which ruth- 

 lessly hunts song birds for food, and minors who hunt them for sport, 

 have been among the destructive agents. Under the gun-license law 

 it is unlawful for these classes to carry guns, and in some sections the 

 law is being faithfully enforced. 



Short sighted, indeed, is the man who objects to the payment of one 

 dollar a year for the privilege of using a gun, when by so doing he 

 is providing a fund for the protection of his best friends, the bird in 

 their capacity of insect and weed destroyers. 



The next great advance must be the destruction of useless cats. It 

 is conservatively estimated that cats average the killing of fifty birds 

 apiece each year. Students estimate that one and one-half millions are 

 annuall}^ destroyed in New England and three and one-half millions in 

 New York state. The destruction is greatest among young birds just 

 out of the nest. 



This work is popularly attributed to stray and underfed cats, but 

 abundant evidence is available to condemn most of the cherished house- 

 hold pets. The hunting instinct of a cat is too strong to be overcome, 

 and the well fed, high-spirited home cat is frequently the worst offender, 

 not because of hunger, but for the pure love of killing. 



In the case of the dog, the nuisance of useless numbers has been 

 comfortably overcome by a license, whereby for a small sum the valu- 

 able animal is protected and the worthless one destroyed. Why should 

 not this same justice be meted to the cat, which is economically a much 

 greater offender than the dog ever was? 



