Vol. XV. Xo. 369. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



197 



toward a decline. The annual value of the cacao exported 

 at the present time is about £2.5,000. The article concludes 

 by calling attention to the good prospects before coco-nut 

 cultivation, and to the measure ot stability attendant on the 

 lime industry on account of the diverse niture of the dift'erent 

 products, eacli of which meets a separate demand. At the 

 same time, diversity of indnstries is recommended, and in 

 this connexion it, is repeated that coconuts offer attractions. 



ECONOMIC AVICULTURE. 



The following notes on the value of birds in the 

 West Indies for the control of insect pests, have been 

 furnished by the Rev. Father Dawson, S.J., M.A.: — 



In the.se days, now that agriculture in all its branches 

 is being reduced, more or less, to an exact science, much 

 care and attention are necessarily devoted to the elimination 

 or destruction of such insects as may be found injurious to 

 economic plant life. Habits of insects ate minutely studied, 

 and such of these creatures as are found destructive to 

 cultivation are condemned as 'insect pests' and relentless war 

 is made upon them. For each separate insect pest some 

 specific treatment is devised: traps are cunningly laid down, 

 or poisonous drugs are mixed with foodstuffs known to be 

 palatable to the particular insect in question. 



Such methods, no doubt, are useful and necessary. 

 P.ut doubtless a campaign more in accordance with Nature's 

 ways might be undertaken. Most of the insect pests, if not 

 all, are the particular prey of some particular bird, and it 

 should be the business of the agriculturist to discover the 

 economic importance of each bird in this respect, for the 

 purpose of introducing and protecting such as may be useful 

 to him. Something in this direction has already been done. 



Quite recently the birds of Porto Kico have been 

 studied with this end in view, and the important information 

 thus obtained has been carefully tabulated in a recent 

 American publication (Birds of I'orlo Rico, by Alex 

 Wetmore, Washington Government Printing Office, 1916). 



Many islands suffer from a paucity of birds, or birds 

 of the right kind, because hitherto nothing has been done to 

 encourage them to remain : they have been agriculturated 

 out of existence. Before ancient and ill-considered methods 

 of cultivation they have been forced to retire; they have been 

 as it were, elbowed out. In Barbados, for instance, sixty 

 or seventy species of birds visit the island from time to time, 

 but of these only some fifteen species find a permanent foot- 

 hold; and .some of them have only secured this by becoming 

 serai-domesticated. 



Birds require cover and convenient water. In England, 

 artificial bowers have been constructed by bird-lovers in 

 several places with the happiest results. The same might be 

 done in these islands, if not for scientific and artistic reasons, 

 at least for economic. These latter are imperative in tropical 

 regions where insect pests if not checked thrive mightily. 

 Tliere are no hard winters to kill them off. 



There are in many places great tracts of cultivated land 

 on which not a tree is allowed to grow. There are doubt- 

 less plentiful supplies of bird food in the shape of 

 noxious insects, but the birds are only to be found 

 on the outskirts, whereas clumps of trees, carefully 

 selected and planted at convenienj; distances, and with 

 a supply of water, would induce birds to make them their hab- 

 itat. There undisturbed they would build their nests and rear 

 their voracious young, and the ground rent of their bowers 

 would be well paid by the inestimable service they would 

 render to the growing crops. 



An important ques'ion would be to consider what kinds 

 of birds should be encouraged, or even introduced; and here 

 one may only venture to make a few general observations. 



Common to most of the islands is one of the several 

 species of boat-tails, Quiscalus, locally known as 'black 

 birds', which I prefer to call rudder-tails'. These birds 

 do not visit broad fields in great numbers (where their 

 services would be incalculable), for want of cover. 

 They betake themselves rather to our yards and roads, 

 feeding upon whatever they can pick up, for they are 

 omnivorous. They might be induced to visit the fields 

 if clumps of cabbage palms were planted, and a tap of 

 running water introduced. According to the account men- 

 tioned above, all kinds of harmful insects have been found 

 in their crops: grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, bugs, weevils, 

 mole-crickets, cattle ticks, etc.; wliereas the amount of corn 

 taken was negligible. 



Almost equally important are tyrant birds which 

 include 'logger heads', qu'est ce que'il dit', rain-bird', 

 etc., of which each island has its representatives. Moat 

 of these are almost wholly insectivorous, adding, however, 

 lizards and small mammals to their bill of fare. On 

 the other hand, however, they are not gregarious like 

 Quiscalus, nor do they so patiently and persistently 

 forage about the ground for grubs and larvae, prefer 

 ing to cater their prey on the wing. It may be noted 

 that Elainea (also a tyrant bird) has to a great extent aban 

 doned its pursuit of insects, probablj' through stress of 

 circumstances, and now feeds almost exclusively on seeds and 

 vegetables. It may be surmised that it feeds its j'oung, at 

 any rate, on an insect diet. 



The smaller kinds of gauldings or herons deserve 

 encouragement, for besides fish and crustaceans, these birds, 

 will eat great quantities of the destructive mole-cricket. But 

 to introduce them into arable land it would be necessary to 

 construct a shallow trench or stream, for these birds will 

 not ordinarily stray far from water. Wliite egrets, almost 

 equally useful, and indispensable to rice-fields, will go farther 

 afield. 



The whole family of cuckoos (Cuculidae) deserve 

 unstinted praise, for their staple food consists of caterpillars. 

 They should therefore be carefully encouraged and protected. 

 Foremost among these in these regions is Crotophaga ant, 

 called in some places old-witch or black parrot. These birds- 

 hunt most searchingly about trees and fields in groups from, 

 seven to twenty, and leave no stone unturned. The islands that 

 do not possess this bird may well lament their loss, and steps 

 should be taken to introduce it; for nothing in the shape of 

 insect pests seems to come amiss to their rapacious maws. 

 In broad fields they would require shelter and water; clumps 

 of bamboos would serve their piirpo.se both for cover and for 

 nesting purposes. Well would they repay care spent upon 

 their culture. 



Owls are very useful birds where rats and mice abound. 

 The depredations of the.se animals in orchards is sometimes 

 quite prodigious. Here the Barn-owl {Stiyj; flninmea), 

 common throughout the world, might well be introduced; 

 care being taken to provide hollow trees or wooden boxes as 

 places of retirement. Smaller owls will feed on cockroaches, 

 locusts, and such small harmful fry. Goatsuckers and night 

 jars are also useful, feeding on moths and beetles. 



The smaller kinds of hawk well de.?erve attention, for 

 they will eat mole-crickets and locusts wit:h avidity, notably 

 the South American sparrow hawk (Faleo Spaivorimi). In 

 this case, besides trees for roosting and nesting, posts or nests 

 should be placed about the fields from which they may ply 

 their useful trade. 



