two birds as they darted away. But this would break up the family life he 

 had learned to admire and respect, and make him no less guilty of taking a 

 mean advantage of a harmless neighbor that could not protect itself even in 

 flight. The stone dropped at his feet, the gun returned to his shoulder, and he 

 went to his home, never to shoot a bird from that day to this. This may seem 

 like idle sentiment, but a season's study of that happy little family made it 

 impossible for the hunter to kill one of its members. 



Bird Day deserves a place on every school program, not only because of its 

 vitalizing effect upon the school work, and because of its far-reaching effect 

 upon the life and character of the pupil, but it also deserves a place because a 

 study of birds is vital in conserving the bird life of a neighborhood. In the 

 densely settled sections of this country the birds are rapidly disappearing. Some 

 species are gone and others will follow if we do not extend to them our care 

 and protection. They must have secluded places to nest, feed and bathe, and 

 our pupils can do much to aid in this important work. The practice of the Boy 

 Scouts in feeding birds during the cold months of the year is a most commend- 

 able one, and one that could be followed by the boys of every community, 

 whether they are members of that organization or not. A concerted effort needs 

 to be made toward creating a desire for the care and protection of bird life 

 through the observance of Bird Day in the schools. 



Birds Destroy Cotton-Boll Weevil 



Of all the birds known as natural enemies of the cotton-boll weevil, orioles, 

 swallows and nighthawks are the most important, according to the Biological 

 Survey. Insect specialists of the bureau have made extensive investigations 

 of the subject, which have developed that there are sixty kinds of birds that eat 

 the weevil. 



The nighthawk, or bullbat, catches the weevils on the wing in considerable 

 numbers, especially during their migration. Unfortunately, the nighthawk is 

 shot for sport or eaten for food in some sections of the South, but its value 

 for food is infinitesimal as compared with the services it renders the cotton 

 grower and other agriculturists, and every effort should be made to spread broad- 

 cast a knowledge of its usefulness as a weevil destroyer, with a view to its com- 

 plete protection. The orioles, barn swallow, rough-wing swallow, bank swallow, 

 cliff swallow and the martin are all persistent enemies of the boll weevil. 



From the standpoint of the fanner and the cotton grower, these swallows 

 are among the most useful birds. Especially designed by nature to capture 

 insects in midair, their powers of flight and endurance are unexcelled, and in 

 their own field they have no competitors. Their peculiar value to the cotton 

 grower consists in the fact that, like the nighthawk, they capture boll weevils 

 when flying over the fields, which no other birds do. Fly catchers snap up the 



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