BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



81 



ucT ucT Economic Ornithology, .^s^ .^cr 



"AGRICULTURE AND BIRD 

 PROTECTION." 

 Dr. Bourget, the author of " L'Agriculturc 

 et la Protection des Oiseaux " (Lausanne", 

 Payot et Cie), is able to speak from practical 

 experience of the value of birds in the vine- 

 yard. He has stocked his own vine3'ai-d, 

 on the shores of Lake Leman with nesting- 

 boxes ; and the village cemetery, which it 

 joins, is, " thanks to the feelings of resj^ect 

 for the dead and the fear of revenants, an 

 inviolable refuge for birds." 



" To-day, July 2Cth, 1910, in company with my 

 vinedresser, I inspected this modest Aineyard, and 

 we agree that this is in a most flourishing condition ; 

 the worm has made tlio smallest of inroads. . . 

 Nevertheless, I hear all round me lamentations over 

 lost crops and bad days coming. 



" To what can I attribute the prosperity of my 

 vineyard, beyond the carefid attention of my vine- 

 di-esser, if not to the great number of insectivorous 

 birds which here seek their indisjjensable food, 

 larvae, etc. ? Hence my conclusion that a vinejard 

 harboiu-ing a sufficient number of insectivous birds 

 is safe from any exaggerated invasion of insect 

 j)ests. 



" The same conclusions can be af)pUed to the 

 cultivation of fruit trees." 



Pointing out, in the first place, the need 

 for birds, which alone can destroy certain 

 insect pests, and in the second place des- 

 cribing how to encourage their presence, 



Dr. Bourget says : — 



" It must not be forgotten that although birds 

 can be classed as insectivorous, grainivorous, and 

 frugivorous, at one time of their Life they are all 

 insectivorous. When hatched, young birds are 

 fed entirely on insects and their larvae, in the same 

 way that the young of mammals are nourished 

 by milk. The c^uantity of insects necessary to 

 bring up a brood is enormous. . . . And at what 

 time of the year have these birds the greatest need 

 of insects ? Just at the moment when the insects 



themselves wish to be fed at the expense of tnir vines 

 and fruit-trees, that is to say from April until Juno 

 or July. 



" During the last twenty years these insect para- 

 sites have increased in an extraordinary way. . . 

 The two principal f;auses for this arc the .'■mall<M- 

 number of broods j)roduced and the massacre <>( 

 migratory l)irds in the southern countries, where 

 in s[)ito of international laws the bird-catchers 

 anniliilato millions of every s|)0cies which con- 

 stitute the charm of our country-side when spring 

 appears. Tlio smaller number of broods is ex|)lained 

 by the greater density of the riu"il |)oi)ulation, the 

 enclosing of land causing the destruction of those 

 thickets and hedges in which birds find a safe 

 refuge." 



With regard to encouraging the birds, 

 Dr. Bourget advocates cultivation of hedges 

 and thickets, and the provision of artificial 

 nesting-boxes everywhere, around houses 

 and in forests. As to the latter, he cites the 

 case of the Grand Duchy of Baden, of Bavaria, 

 and of Wurtemburg, where the forests of 

 the State are models of healthy vigorous 

 growth, thanks to the propagation of climb- 

 ing birds — Woodpeckers and others — which 



keep down the parasites of the trees. 



•' Dr. Chatolain de Saint-Blaise, the beautiful 

 writer, has made the region of Pr^fargier a paradise 

 for birds, by reserving in all the walls of the i)roperty 

 and in other available places, small cavities where 

 birds can find perfect seciu"ity for their nests." 



Finally Dr. Bourget advocates the estab- 

 lishment of small preserves, with thick ever- 

 green hedges, a supplj' of nesting-boxes, and 

 the provision of fruiting trees, arbutus, elder, 

 service-tree, barberry, hawthorn, etc. — and 

 of plants with oleaginous seeds, which would 

 preserve through the winter thousands of 

 birds " which in sj^ring would spread them- 

 selves over the country to the great advantage 

 of agi'iculture." 



A new Bird Protection Order has been issued for 

 Lancashire (September 1st, 1911), by which the coast 

 from Southport to Formby has been declared a 

 protected area for birds and eggs. Sunday pro- 



tection is also given for practically the whole 

 county, and all-the-year protection to a number of 

 species. Close time is extended to September 1st, 

 except for Wild-Duck, Snipe, and Woodcock. 



