BROOKLINE PROTECTS BIRDS 



By Charles B. Floyd, Vice-President the Brookline, Mass., Bird Club. 



[Mr. Floyd here tells how necessary is the encouragement of bird life in order that they may 

 Ijattle against the insects which every 'year destroy many millions of dollars worth of trees, shrubs 

 and plants. He also describes how carefully Brookline, Mass.. protects its birds and the success 

 it has had in so doing. — Editor's Note.] 



THE study of birds among old 

 and young has increased all 

 over this country at a marvelous 

 rate since the various State 

 Audubon Societies began their efforts 

 to arouse the people to the enormous 

 losses caused by the ravages of insects. 

 These pests have multiplied in numbers 

 until they have become overwhelming; 

 owing to the fact that the birds which 

 would ordinarily hold them in check 

 have been slaughtered to such an 

 extent that the balance of nature has 

 been upset. 



The public is slo^vly beginning to 

 know that man needs and must have 

 the birds to protect his fields, orchards 

 and shade trees, night and day, or they 

 will be destroyed. All the devices 

 and inventions yet produced are unable 

 to cope with the outbreaks of insects 

 which occur continually in all parts of 

 this country; for the insect literally 

 dominates the earth. 



Instances can be cited where large 

 flocks of birds have destroyed huge 

 swarms of insects and saved men from 

 ruin and possible starvation. When one 

 is reminded of the fact that there are 

 over 300,000 "vegetation eaters " known 

 to scientists, and probably twice that 

 number still unknown, that these pests 

 feed on practically all varieties of 

 plants, and that with their reproductive 

 powers a single pair like the gipsy moth 

 can produce enough young in eight 

 years to destroy all the foliage in the 

 United States, it is not over estimating 

 the situation when I repeat that the 

 insect dominates the earth. 



Their destructiveness is due to the 

 amount of vegetation they ruin for they 

 actually eat their way through their 

 short life. A gipsy moth whose length 

 of life is twenty to thirty days will 

 devour three-quarters of a pound of 

 leaves. If this seems a small amount 



792 



try weighing a pound. As this hairy 

 destroyer consumes the leaves of a tree 

 the tree's means of breathing and taking 

 in nourishment are removed. The tree 

 becomes weakened, month after month, 

 and finally dies from attacks of borers 

 and bark beetles. Some insects in the 

 larvae stage are able to bore into the 

 hardest wood. Not all insects, how- 

 ever, live on vegetation, some eat only 

 the dead. The latter do no harm. 

 The foliage is not subject to the attacks 

 of a few varieties of insects, such as 

 the gipsy, brown tail and leopard moths 

 but new species are constantly appearing 

 that injure trees and crops. Over 400 

 known varieties of insects prey on the 

 oaks, 176 attack the apple tree, and 

 about the same ntmiber live on the 

 plum, peach, pear and cherry trees. 

 One-tenth of the value of the crops of 

 the farmers, market gardeners, and 

 orchardists are lost each year. As the 

 forests are cleared away the natural 

 plant food of the insects grows less and 

 less so they turn to the crops, gardens 

 and fruit trees for sustenance and cause 

 an increasing loss each season. In 

 certain places in Massachusetts the 

 devastation by insects has been so 

 large that the State has been unable to 

 check it, and after abandoning the 

 attempt, the birds have not only 

 stop]3ed but wiped out the scourge. 

 When such out-breaks occur the birds 

 qtiickly gather to feed upon the insects, 

 for their food is then plentiful and easy 

 to obtain. 



The career of the gipsy moth in Massa- 

 chusetts will illustrate how^ quickly 

 one of these plagues can gain a foot- 

 hold and increase with terrible results. 

 In 1868 or 1869 this moth was intro- 

 duced into Medford, Mass. Twenty 

 years later it had growm to such numbers 

 that it was alarming the community. 

 By 1890 the legislature was asked for 



