240 Bird - Lore 



Of quite as great service, also, are the migrating and nesting birds, of which 

 a member of an important commission, visiting the front, wrote: "In the lull 

 of the booming artillery I heard the birds singing in the few remaining trees 

 of the vicinity. It was the sweetest music that ever fell on my ears." 



This observer also made the statement that from an eminence where thirty- 

 eight villages were visible before the war nothing is to be seen now except shell- 

 holes and ashes, dotted here and there with patches of green containing rows of 

 white crosses. Far below the surface of what once could be called the earth, 

 but which now bears no resemblance to soil, are soldiers in trenches, some ol 

 whom ha\'e not had even a day's furlough in fourteen months. What must the 

 songs of wild birds, as well as of Canaries, mean to these dauntless heroes! 

 What, too, must be the strength of the instincts of those feathered travelers from 

 afar, who, returning to their accustomed haunts, find only here and there a stub 

 of a tree, still struggling to put out leaves, where they may rest and break 

 forth into song. The thought of the birds' constancy and cheer in those areas 

 of utter desolation, where only soldiers remain, living like the cavemen of 

 old, fills one with wonder and gladness. 



Recently, at an Audubon Society mass meeting in Tremont Temple, Boston, 

 especial emphasis was laid upon the relation of birds to gardens, orchards, 

 crops, and forests, and the unusual opportunity now before us of making this 

 relation better understood and more widely appreciated. 



Without multiplying instances further, let the facts be accepted that birds 

 are of probably greater value than before the war, and that there has never 

 l)een a time when bird-study and bird-work were more needed, both objectively 

 and subjectively, than now. In this connection three matters make a particular 

 appeal at the moment of writing: 



First, is the i mmed iale }ieed oi estahMshmg the most practical relations between 

 birds and man in agriculture. Thousands of home gardens are being made, in 

 addition to the cultivation of thousands of extra acres for cereal crops. Birds 

 can do much to help and somewhat to harm if left to themselves. An intelli- 

 gent gardener, horticulturist, farmer or forester will study the birds which find 

 their food and make their nests in his especial precinct, and after observing 

 at first-hand their habits, will seek to take advantage of their helpful methods 

 and to protect his fruits or crops in case he discovers any harmful practices 

 on their part. 



To aid him, as well as to stimulate healthful competition in bird-study in 

 the graded schools, the scheme of charting the food-supplies grown within 

 stated areas, such as towns or counties, might verw profitably be undertaken. 



Charts of local areas should form the basis of county and state charts. 

 In order to make the survey successful and the charts of value for purposes of 

 actual comjiarison, the following points are suggested for the consideration of 

 teachers or directors of Junior and Adult Audubon Societies. 



