268 Missou7'i State Horticultural Society. 



Who would have suspected that these little winged creatures 

 of the air, are so important to the life of this wondrous being, 

 man, who calls G-od his Father. And yet we may remember, " He 

 saith to the worm, thou art my brother." And, therefore, should 

 we protest against that reckless, thoughtless, selfish pleasure- 

 seeking which pursues its way through the world Avith gun on 

 shoulder, scattering destruction right and left, merely to be tickled 

 childishly, by the power of hitting from afar. Could my pen be 

 pointed with fire, and every letter it forms burned on the naked 

 backs of these trifling "ne'er-do-weels" I would write '^'^from hence- 

 forth '' — to make them smart. Surely there are birds and beasts of 

 prey to occupy the valuable time of these mighty Nimrods, by the 

 destruction of which some benefit might accrue ; and yet of that I 

 am led to doubt. Some time ago, seeing a hawk light in a chicken- 

 yard, I called to the owner of the premises to shoot it. "No," he 

 replied, " that hawk for a steady diet prefers rabbit. He only 

 desires a little variety this morning, and I am willing to spare him 

 a chicken occasionally. Eabbits here are a perfect pest without 

 these hawks." 



Agriculturists when they know exactly the tariff they must 

 pay, in kind and quantity, and to whom to pay it, may generally 

 make some arrangements for settlement and delivery ; but when 

 the balance in affairs is disturbed, and the chinch-bug immigrates by 

 acres an inch deep into their fields, or locusts in vast atrial fleets and 

 armies by billions on billions come sweej^ing over whole continents 

 they must stand aghast. The very word remedy sounds like a pojJ-gun 

 in a cyclone. Luckily, our troubles of that kind are like angels' 

 visits. One sees that the balance is easily disturbed at times, as in 

 the case just quoted. Usually remedies may be devised in time by 

 perseverance. And more could be done were our horticulturists and 

 others willing to assemble and co-operate. But here is just the 

 difficulty ; they are the last people to do so, and therefore become 

 the prey of the worm and blight not only in field and orchards, 

 but socially and politically. Knowing as we do the vast benefit of 

 birds to farms and orchards, what class of men but farmers would, 

 year after year, patiently submit to see lazy tippling tramps prowl 

 around and over their fields, shooting these little, harmless deliglit- 

 some warblers, whose charming notes strike their slumbering ears 

 of drowsy summer morns, awake them to the joyous day, accompany 

 fchem as they " jocund drive their team afield ; " and are the last 

 lovable solace to the weary plowman as he " homeward plods liis 



