OUR NATIVE BIRDS: THEIR VALUE T(3 MAN. 



Bv F. W. ImtzSi.moxs. F.Z.S.. IvR.AI.S. 



In the .economy of nature, birds take a \erv considerable 

 ])art. Throuo^hont all forms of life, from the humble creatures 

 which are mere spots of transparent jellv, upwards all alono- the 

 line to the his^hly e\t)lved subhuman animals, nature guards 

 against undue increase by so orderino- things that those forms 

 of life which increase most rapidly have the largest lumiber of 

 enemies. 



Man fondly nurses the erroneous belief that he is the domin- 

 ant animal upon earth. True, lie has ac(|uired a considerable 

 measure of power and dominance, and persecutes and slays the 

 lower animal life around him in a most unreasoning manner. 

 Knowing no better, he destroys friend and foe alike. 



The real lords and masters of the world are the insects. 

 With his many inventions, man wages a constant warfare upon 

 the Insect Army, which is seeking to drive him from the face 

 of the earth. The numerous allies which the Creatcjr has pro- 

 vided to aid him in his struggle for life are doing most of the 

 fighting, however. Man's ])uny attacks wotild do about as much 

 damage to the insect enemy as shooting into a flight of migra- 

 tory locusts with a single rifle. 



Insects breed with astonishing rapidit\", and ulien from an\ 

 cause, their natural enemies are dinn'nished in numbers. the>' 

 increase and become a plague. 



Over 300,000 species of insects are ;dread\- known, and new 

 kinds are being discovered every day. These vast uncountable 

 hordes live upon vegetable and animal life. If we had the power 

 to exterminate all the natural enemies of insects, and exercised 

 that power to the full, then, within a period of five vears, the 

 insects would have swept the entire world bare of vegetable life 

 — yes, as bare as the Sahara Desert. lMer\- living creature is 

 dei)endent, either directly or indirectly, on i)lant life, and the 

 w'cjrld would, without it, become a barren, uninhabitable waste. 

 Man is indeed a i)rovokingly imreasoning animal, for he. as a 

 general rule, does not avail himself as he should of the knowledge 

 of men nf science. To bring about manv of the reforms for the 

 pr(Jlection and general betterment of the individual ami the race, 

 it is usually necessary to employ com])idsion in the form of 

 legislation. Until the education of the children takes a more 

 practical turn, the hmuan race will continue to blunder on and 

 evolve to higher intellectual and spiritual planes at an e.xasper- 

 atingly slow i)ace. 



Insects ha\e liosts ot i-nemies other than our feathered 

 allies, but if we e.xterminated the nati\e biriN. the liuman popu- 

 lation of South .\frica wmuM, in a few \ears. be reduced to a 

 condition of starvation. 



The fecundity of man\- species of insects is staggering to 

 the imagination of even an astronomer. ]utr instance, one Hop 



