ARBORICULTURE. 



151 



much water, and send their roots into 

 sewers, wells and cisterns, which they 

 frequently destroy. Both were pioneer 

 trees, and as such have been of service 

 in supplying shade quickly in the tree- 

 less West, but their time of usefulness 

 has passed, while the oaks, hard maples, 

 and other more valuable trees should re- 

 place them. 



It is extremely unfortunate that in 

 our Capital City, where the shade trees, 

 system of management, and everything 

 connected with the parks and shade trees 

 of the city is under Government control, 

 and is looked upon as a model to be fol- 

 lowed, these trees should be retained in 

 such numbers even when almost dead 

 with disease. 



OWLS. HAWKS. EAGLES, MICE, 

 SNAKES. 



In a recent visit to the "Pocket" of 

 Indiana, inspecting forest plantations, we 

 were informed that field mice were extra- 

 ordinarily numerous in Southwest In- 

 diana, and were very destructive to grain 

 and other crops, and had destroyed many 

 fruit and other trees by girdling and eat- 

 ing the tender bark of the roots. We 

 were shown four-year-old trees which 

 these rodents had killed, the entire bark 

 having been gnawed and eaten from the 

 collar down to the depth of a foot beneath 

 the surface, all the roots being stripped of 

 their bark. 



During the autumn of 1905, on account 

 of excessive rains, the annual grasses 

 grew very rank, and provided harbors for 

 the field mice, where their work was un- 

 observed until the destruction had been 

 accomplished. 



W^alking along the railway track where 

 fires had burned the dead grass, we were 

 amazed at the number of runways where 



the mice had made beaten roads for great 

 distances. Evidently these animals were 

 of large size, as half-grown rats. Young 

 orchards have suffered severely from 

 their ravages. 



From the skins of "rattlers" which 

 were shown us, and the stories of snakes 

 which we heard, it is evident that vermin 

 of all kinds are unusually abundant. 



Americans have an insane desire to kill 

 something, and no eagle, hawk or owl is 

 safe when the farmer's rifle or shotgun is 

 within reach. It is as great an accom- 

 plishment to kill an eagle as for an army 

 to win a battle, and the press heralds the 

 capture or killing of an eagle an honor- 

 able feat t^' our fellow citizen, Jim Jones. 

 Thus encouragement is given for the de- 

 struction of all kinds of prey. 



Some years ago the State of North 

 Carolina was overrun with rabbits to such 

 extent that the Legislature was called 

 upon to offer bounties for rabbits' scalps. 



Many States have offered bounties for 

 hawks and eagles, ignorantly supposing 

 them to be public enemies which should 

 be exterminated. 



Thus by equilibrium established by the 

 Creator between animal, insect, bird and 

 plant life, the enormous increase of nox- 

 ious insects and various kinds of vermin 

 causes terrible losses in crops to the hus- 

 bandman. 



It is important to know that the benefit 

 received from birds of all kinds are very 

 far in excess of any injury, actual or im- 

 aginary, which they may cause. 



In regions of heavy snowfall, field mice, 

 being unable to secure sufficient grain 

 food, are driven to gnawing the bark of 

 young trees for food. Farmers protect 

 young fruit trees by tramping the snow 

 solidly about the trees, and they are thus 

 prevented from girdling the orchards. 



Rabbits girdle above the ground, often 



