CALCULATIONS. 



It is remarkable that in this " enlightened age " (I give 

 the quotation-marks, lest I might be suspected of originat- 

 ing the expression) there should be a necessity of enter- 

 ing upon a course of argument to prove the utility of 

 birds to agriculture. It is also surprising that the greatest 

 enemies of birds are among men whose occupation would 

 be ruined if they were for a single year wholly deprived of 

 their services. There are many who plead for the birds as 

 beautiful and interesting objects, deserving protection for 

 their own sake. But, valuable as they are for their songs, 

 their gay plumage, and their amusing habits, all these 

 qualities are of minor importance compared with the ben- 

 efits they confer upon man, as checks to the overmultipli- 

 cation of insects. The trees and the landscapes are made 

 greener and the flowers more beautiful in the spring, 

 the fruits of autumn finer and more abundant, and all 

 nature is preserved in freshness and beauty by these hosts 

 of winged musicians, who celebrate theii' garrulous revel- 

 ries in field and wood. 



I believe it admits of demonstration, that if birds were 

 exterminated man could not live upon this earth. Al- 

 most every one of the smaller species is indispensable to 

 our agricultural prosperity. The gunner who destroys 

 ten small birds in the spring preserves as many millions 

 of injurious insects to ravage our crops and render barren 

 our orchards. Naturalists are unanimous in declaring the 

 importance of their services ; but cultivators, who of all 

 persons ought to be most familiar with the facts that prove 



