6 The Bulletin. 



Upon the approach of cold weather many of the birds which have 

 fed largely upon an insect diet change the character of their food, 

 and during the cold months subsist chiefly upon seeds, with some 

 wild fruit and berries for dessert. Here is where the twenty-five 

 species of native sparrows in North Carolina render their greatest 

 service. They search the fields, eating the grass seeds which abound 

 there. When the snows come and cover this food the tall weed stalks 

 are still holding their stores of grain high above the snow, and to 

 these the birds now turn. Most farmers think they have trouble 

 enough already with the grass and weeds in their growing crops, 

 but it would doubtless be a greater task to keep these subdued if it 

 were not for the assistance of the birds. 



Many people have failed to appreciate what a tremendous force 

 the wild birds are for doing good to the agricultural interests of the 

 country, simply from a failure to observe them closely. Many peo- 

 ple rarely see wild birds except when the frightened creatures are 

 wildly endeavoring to escape from the real or imaginary enemy who 

 has intruded upon their solitude. But hide in a quiet place, almost 

 anywhere in the fields or woods, and soon the birds come back to their 

 accustomed activities. I have known men who did this to be utterly 

 astounded at what they saw. 



While we often fail to give birds credit for the good they do, but 

 few men neglect to condemn them most heartily for any act which 

 may be regarded as detrimental to man's interests, no matter how 

 superficial the data may be upon which the charge is based. For 

 example: I have known farmers, who raised bees, to shoot all the 

 Kingbirds (bee martins) which came upon their premises, .because 

 they claimed that the birds sometimes ate bees. Apparently they 

 failed to observe that the Kingbird ate anything else, and that they 

 kept hawks and crows away from the poultry yard. Professor Beal, 

 of the Agricultural Department at Washington, D. C, examined the 

 contents of 218 Kingbirds' stomachs and found that only fourteen 

 contained the remains of bees, most of these being drones, while 68 

 per cent of the Kingbirds' food was found to consist of injurious 

 insects. 



Again, it is not an unheard-of occurrence for men to order that 

 all robins, catbirds, and mockingbirds on their places should be shot, 

 because these birds were seen eating cultivated fruit. But did not 

 the birds perform a great part in helping raise that fruit ? Why 

 not do as some men do in the land, who plant a few more trees or 

 vines in order that there may be enough fruit for both the planter and 

 the birds ? 



To many people there is a very great pleasure in having the birds 

 come to visit them, even if they do eat some fruit and grain. In 

 my garden the past spring a small patch of strawberries furnished 



