BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



91 



than compensated by the good they do ; or, in 

 other words, they are the friends of horticulturists 

 and agriculturists, and are not enemies, and do 

 no more harm than mischievous children, which 

 harm can, to a very great extent, be avoided by 

 preventive measures. 



" I may mention that there appears to be a 

 regular pest of caterpillars infesting the orchards 

 and forest trees around here, and they have done 

 inestimable damage. At the same time Jackdaws 

 and Rooks, both young and old, have been vigorously 

 hunted down and shot at sight. It seems to me 

 that the question which landowners and others 

 ■concerned should ask themselves is this : Whether 

 it is not wiser to suffer the Rook and Jackdaw to 

 exist, adopting the old-time methods of scaring, 

 and thus secure their valuable services in the whole- 

 sale destruction of grubs, wireworms, and countless 

 other insidious pests which the owners or occupiers 

 of land are powerless to cope with ? " 



Mr. W. Shepherd Allen, an old member of 

 this Society, and a farmer who has farmed his 



own land, first in England and latterly in New 



Zealand, for fifty years, opposes the proposal 



of the Te Aroha Agricultural Society to offer 



prizes for the destruction of Thrushes' eggs. 



He writes to the Aroha News (May 29th, 



1909) :— 



" There are birds and birds; and I admit that 

 the Sparrow, for instance, does a certain amount of 

 damage, and has to be kept down. With respect 

 to the Thrush the case is different, as it is one of 

 the most useful birds from a farmer's point of view. 

 It lives almost entirely on grubs, snails, and cater- 

 pillars, of which it devours immense quantities. 

 At the lowest estimate, each of these birds will take 

 twenty of these creatures in a day, making a total 

 of 7000 a year. On this place, in former years, the 

 damage done annually by caterpillars was most 

 serious. Sincel have encouraged Thrushes, Starlings, 

 and birds of similar habits, the damage is scarcely 

 appreciable." 



UcT ^cT 



Bird and Tree Day. 



ucr usr 



ARBOR DAY PAGEANT. 



Now that the season of entertainments is at 

 hand, the question of " something for the 

 children" has to be faced ; for the children 

 of to-day expect to perform rather than to 

 look on, and delight in the singing and 

 marching and dressing-up entailed ; and the 

 parents expect it, finding a simple per- 

 formance by their own little folk more 

 attractive than any achievements of the 

 most talented outsiders. The pity of it is 

 that long hours of learning and rehearsing 

 should so frequently be spent on puerile 

 nursery tales, with their often gruesome 

 story and revengeful teaching, or on the 

 inanity of the ordinary fairy operetta. 

 When it is realized for how many years each 

 child will probably remember the words of 

 his part, so carefully conned and so many 

 times repeated, and that his whole family 

 will become almost equally familiar with 

 them, the importance becomes obvious of 

 supplying more worthy material, something 

 which shall not only amuse and recreate as 

 many young performers as possible, but also 

 have some underlying thought that tends to 



elevate the mind instead of filling it with 

 mere rubbish in rhyme. 



The school entertainment has been already 

 recognized as an excellent opportunity for 

 the furtherance of the humanitarian cause, 

 and there is no lack of children's plays on 

 humane lines, thanks to the leadership given 

 by Mrs. Suckling, whose Humane Educator 

 and Humane Play-Book are known to most 

 workers. Mrs. Suckling has also written a 

 musical play or pageant for children, on the 

 subject of Birds and Trees, their associa- 

 tions and uses, which is especially intended 

 for the celebration of Bird and Tree Day, 

 but is also suitable for general performance. 

 The book of words can be had from the 

 R.S.P.B. (price 3d.), and the songs are 

 mostly from the Band of Mercy Melodies, 

 published by the R.S.P.C.A. A few copies 

 of the complete play, words and music, pre- 

 pared by Miss E. Minns, can be borrowed 

 by teachers and organisers. No scenery is 

 needed ; full directions as to costumes are 

 given. The dramatis personal can be more or 

 fewer in number as desired, and " cuts" are 

 suggested to meet local needs. The "Pageant" 



