TRANSACTIONS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILL. 237 



I have been solicited to prepare a paper on Ornithology for the 

 present meeting. 



Unfortunately, I cannot claim to be an ornithologist, unless a love 

 for birds, and a firm belief in their great usefulness in destroying the 

 insect pests of the orchard, garden and farm, entitle one to this name ; 

 a definition which I trust would equally entitle the majority of your 

 members to the name. 



Although disclaiming any right to the title in a scientific sense, I have 

 concluded to comply with the wishes of friend Schofield, especially as 

 this request enables me, without seeming obtrusiveness, to press upon 

 vour Society the consideration of a measure now pending before the 

 Legislature, which is designed to test the "Bird question" practically, 

 and in a manner which will be more satisfactory to the large body of our 

 farmers and horticulturists than all the theories and scientific conclusions 

 which can be presented. 



Although having a single, specific measure to bring before you for 

 consideration, which calls for action rather than talking or theorizing, 

 and although satisfied your members are more than ordinarily well posted 

 on this subject and are ready to decide at once upon this measure, yet I 

 feel it due to you to give some reasons for the action desired. In order 

 to avoid going over the entire broad field embraced by the bird question, 

 and to prevent the repetition of arguments and facts already presented to 

 your Society and to the State Horticultural Society in the various essays 

 and papers read, I have hastily glanced over these as found in the Trans- 

 actions of the latter Society since 1866. Another object I had in view, 

 in this examination, was to ascertain, as near as possible, the views enter- 

 tained on this subject by the members of these Societies. This examina- 

 tion has convinced me that the general feeling among the members is in 

 favor of protecting the birds ; the grape, cherry and strawberry growers 

 appear, as a rule, to be less friendly towards the feathered denizens of our 

 groves than those who do not make the growth of these fruits a specialty. 

 But even these appear to carry their opposition no farther than enlarging 

 the list of those they would devote to destruction. Some members object 

 to certain species, and others to certain other species, according to their 

 several experiences. There are others, again, who express doubt in refer- 

 ence to the supposed utility of birds as destroyers of injurious insects, as 

 they believe the birds, and even domestic fowls, destroy as many carniv- 

 orous as obnoxious insects, thus offsetting their benefits by the injury they 

 do in destroying our insect friends. But, notwithstanding these some- 

 what conflicting views among our horticulturists, I believe I am warranted 

 in concluding, as before stated, that the general feeling among the mem- 

 bers of the Horticultural Society of Northern Illinois is in favor of pro- 

 tecting the majority of birds, at least those known to be insectivorous ; 

 and I may add, that it is generally believed by them that the birds of this 

 class at least are beneficial to horticulturists. 



But the qualification, '■'■known to be insectivorous,'' in the sense in 

 which it is evidently used in this connection, involves an immense amount 

 of research and examination. Investigations on this point have but 



