99 
On the Destruction of Biris.* 
This is a subject which engages the increased attention of all 
naturalists, and a great deal has been written during the past 
few years to enlighten the public mind on the real influence which 
these small creatures have in maintaining the balance of creation ; 
and assuredly it is a topic worthy of notice, the more so, that 
until lately the delusions of the public mind have been such that 
our common birds and other animals, instead of finding an 
admirer and protector in man, have had the greatest difficulty in 
holding their own, in consequence of the ruthless persecutions 
they have constantly met with and experienced. Now, I am not 
going to contend that small birds are unqualified friends of the 
farmer and the gardener: no doubt their services are, as our 
lamented friend, Artemus Ward, would say, ‘a little mixed ;” but 
still I maintain that the observations of naturalists do show, when 
guided by reflection and intelligence, that the benefits which are 
| worked out by small birds far outweigh the damage which they 
_ commit, and that they are on the whole necessary to maintain the 
balance of creation, and to keep under those smaller creatures 
_ which, without them, would soon become intolerable pests. Now, 
unfortunately, casual observers don’t look very far ahead. They 
_ judge the value of God’s gifts as they seem to them, and as they 
appear chiefly to affect their own immediate interests. They 
don’t reflect fully on the nature and purpose of these, nor 
_ observe the daily life and habits of our common birds, and hence 
| they quite under-estimate the value of them, and set them down 
| at once as the enemies of the farmer, and the foes of the gardener. 
It is my object in the following observations to show that the 
popular and too common ideas on this subject are nothing more 
nor less than sheer delusions unfounded on fact, and unwarranted 
* Read before the Society atthe Seventh Evening Meeting (April 9th, 
1867) of the Second Winter Session. 
N 
