NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



the neighbourhood of large towns, the conditions being 

 similar, everything that is green will be sought for. 

 Likewise, when gardens are surrounded by woods, 

 it is only by a liberal use of nets that any reasonable 

 portion of the fruit can be saved. I provide nesting 

 places, and thus have birds so near to the caterpillars 

 and so far away from house morsels, that they devour 

 the pest greedily. But fruit crops being thereby 

 secured, we must next draw on our ingenuity to prevent 

 the birds taking more than their fair tithe. Birds 

 are very destructive to corn when in the milk state, 

 and fields, situated near towns, suffer severely. Had 

 I such a field I would set two school children, the 

 one from 4 a.m. till 12 and the other from 12 till 

 8 p.m., each having a crake, to drive the birds away. 

 If the children cost, say, £1 for the fortnight, I 

 should perhaps save from £5 to /~io of a crop which, 

 but for the birds, would be non-existent. 



" In part justification of those who would exter- 

 minate birds, it must be admitted that for perhaps 

 six weeks in the year, crows, blackbirds, and sparrows 

 are especially destructive ; but if cultivators would 

 concentrate their efforts to ' keep them moving ' at 

 such times to other fields, then they would not be 

 injurious, and their services would so be secured for 

 the longer period, the great value of which will only 

 be known when thousands of grubs are allowed to 

 breed and devastate through our ignorantly tampering 

 with the necessary balance so wisely provided. 



" As to the hard-billed tribe of birds which destroy 

 the seed beds, the gardener must protect his beds with 



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