22 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



about us, and we shall feel wronged and outraged if 

 our rights are not respected." 



There may be some ignorant persons who sneer at 

 such a thing as esthetic value, yet it is very real. The 

 price that a house will bring depends a good deal 

 upon how it is painted, and the effect of the bird upon 

 the character and achievement of the young may be 

 very great. Pleasure is an asset that must be reck- 

 oned with, and the birds give pleasure to a large num- 

 ber of people. They are a diversion, a solace, a rest, 

 an antidote for the strain and stress of life, besides 

 being of absolute necessity to agriculture, and thus 

 essential to the very existence of the human race on 

 earth. We do well to demand their adequate protec- 

 tion and to go out ourselves into the open to study 

 them and to add species after species to the list of 

 our circle of friends. 



