ORNITHOLOGY 



319 



The Commercial Value of Birds. 



We sometimes think that the whole 

 argument of bird protection is based 

 on sentiment, although demonstrations 

 have not been lacking to show that in- 

 sect-eating birds have frequently saved 

 dollars for the farmer in saving crops 

 that have been attacked by destructive 

 pests, which, but for the birds' help 

 would have been a total loss or partial 

 loss. 



We also find the worth of our bird 

 friends proven in their relations with 

 otir trees. That shade trees add mater- 

 ially to the value of residential prop- 

 erty is now generally acknowledged : — 

 a price ranging from $100.00 to $1,- 

 000.00 having been definitely set upon 

 individual trees in several recent court 

 cases; — and it cannot be denied that 

 birds render us great service in the 

 preservation of such trees. 



In the State of Maine, the actual in- 

 come from its migratory water-fowl is 

 computed to be $650,000.00 every year, 

 while Oregon places its water-fowl 

 valuation at a million dollars annually. 



The Federal Aligratory Bird Law, 

 known otherwise as "The Weeks-Mc- 

 Lean Bill," has now been in operation 

 about two years, during which period 

 a marked increase in the water-fowl 

 throughout the United States has 

 taken place ; which, for the greater 

 part, seems to be indisputably a result 

 of the passage of this bill. Other bene- 

 ficial results from this law are apparent 

 among the shore birds, and while in 

 the main it has been well received and 

 at least forty states have passed regu- 

 lations supplementing its work, there 

 are still those short-sighted or selfish 

 enough to oppose it, and several at- 

 tempts have been made to declare the 

 law unconstitutional, or to appeal from 

 its justice. This law required a trem- 

 endous amotmt of hard work to secure 

 its passage, and any attempt to over- 

 throw or nullify its effects by counter 

 legislation should be vigorously fought 

 by every true sportsman, bird-lover 

 and conservationist in the country. 



As a migratory bird cannot properly 

 belong to any one state or locality, and 

 as these usually congregate in such 

 numbers and tmder such conditions at 

 certain seasons that their ranks are of- 

 ten largely depleted by unthinking 

 people owing to lax local regulations. 



the wisdom of federal control of all 

 migatory birds is self-apparent. In 

 some instances, of course, this will nec- 

 essitate the changing of local legisla- 

 tion to meet new requirements, and 

 may at first seem like depriving some 

 of their individual rights in shooting; 

 but it appears to have been conclusive- 

 ly shown that birds have an actual 

 commercial, as well as an aesthetic, 

 value ; that their usefulness and owner- 

 ship are confined to no one season or lo- 

 cality, and therefor, no one state should 

 have the right to enact laws governing 

 them which would in any way infringe 

 upon the rights of the people at large 

 — the people who are the real owners 

 of the birds. 



Notes from Bartville, Pa. 



Mrs. D. W. Jackson, of Bartville, Pa., 

 writes of the abundance of goldfinches, 

 purple finches, tree sparrows and juncoes 

 about her home during the past winter ; 

 also the wintering of a pair of cardinals ; 

 and, on the 24th and 26th of January, the 

 visitation of a pair of bluebirds, in addi- 

 tion to the usual chickadees and nut- 

 hatches, to partake of the abundant sup- 

 pi}- of food which is always at the dis- 

 posal of her bird friends. She mentions 

 also an instance of a crow being frozen 

 to the ice as it was taking a drink, being 

 reported to her by a writer from Chester 

 County. 



The following extract from a letter to 

 her while away shows the interest of a 

 young maid at home in the feeding of the 

 birds : "It is about nine-thirty and the 

 little birds are all around getting their 

 morning meal. I see the little juncoes 

 and tree sparrows eating the seeds which 

 I put out uoon the point and hillside. 

 Xuthatch in locust tree : also saw the car- 

 dinal early this morning. The English 

 sparrows come up here in flocks after the 

 feed wdiich I scatter around for the other 

 birds. The little dog chases them away 

 when she gets a chance. — There was a 

 little chickadee. — T don't know what was 

 wrong with it. It settled unon the little 

 oeach tree, anrl T watched it to see what 

 it would do, and it just hung on a branch 

 about ten minutes, unside down just like 

 a little bat. until I thought it was dead, 

 so I went out to examine it, and it stuck 

 to the branch until I picked it into my 

 hands. It seemed rather surnrised when 

 it saw someone had it fast. I took him 

 into the house to warm him and give him 



