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HUDSON-FULTON CELEBRATION 



HOW TO BRING BACK THE BIRDS. 



In the restoration of depleted wild life, Na- 

 ture is kind and long-suffering. Up to a cer- 

 tain point, man's destructiveness is forgiven, and 

 the damage is repaired. But the slaughter must 

 not go too far, or the damage will be beyond 

 repair. 



One of the most remarkable of the mental 

 traits of wild creatures is the marvelous quick- 

 ness with which they become aware of the fact 

 that they are protected, and tliat within certain 

 boundaries their, lives are secure. When jjro- 

 tection is declared they forgive and forget the 

 slaughterings of tlie past, and begin life anew. 

 When peace has been established, even the 

 wildest and wariest birds, such as wild ducks 

 that have been long harried by gunners, learn of 

 it in an incredibly short time. 



In the Dakotas, during the close season the 

 wild ducks live near the haunts of man in a way 

 that the killing season quickly renders fatal. 



To country dwellers, many ways are open 

 whereby they can increase the volume of bird 

 life. Let us enumerate a few of them : 



Every farm and wood lot should be posted by 

 the owner or occupant, sternly forbidding all 

 shooting and trapping thereon. 



Every country dweller should see to it, by 

 force of arms if necessary, that throughout his 

 sphere of influence the laws protecting wild life 

 are strictly enforced. 



Certain n-ild birds should be fed, especially in 

 winter. For the Bob-\^niite and Grouse, put 

 out corn and wheat screenings. For the Wood- 

 peckers. Nuthatches. Chickadees aud others of 

 the hardy "winter residents," nail to the tree- 

 trunks many strips of fat pork and chunks of 

 suet. The services that those birds render your 



trees are well worth the cost of fifty pounds of 

 pork. 



The Ducks, Snipe and Woodcock need only 

 wet ground, water and protection. 



To encourage Wrens, put up nest-boxes with 

 holes so .small that the English Sparrow can not 

 enter them. A silver quarter will give 3'ou the 

 right size for a Wren hole; but punch holes in 

 the bottom of the can or box, so that all water 

 tliat runs in will also run out. 



Shoot the English Sparrows from your prem- 

 ises, and better birds will take their places. 



If a bold-hearted Robin elects to try winter- 

 ing near you, feed Iiim in winter, without fail. 

 It is safe to say that many species of our song 

 and insectivorous birds could easily survive the 

 cold of our winters if they could obtain a con- 

 staut su]3ply of food. It is not the cold that 

 drives them South, but the annual failure of 

 their food supply. 



For all game birds, the great action to be de- 

 sired and sought is the enactment of ten-year 

 close seasons, covering wide areas. To this the 

 men who think only of to-day, and scoff at "the 

 future," will strenuously object. They would 

 rather annihilate the remnant to-day than have 

 an abundance ten or twenty years hence. But 

 they represent the spirit of destruction, and 

 wastefulness of the resources of Nature. We 

 are in no way bound to respect their views or 

 their wishes. If the annihilators were given 

 free rein, twenty-five years hence would see the 

 United States as barren of bird life as the Desert 

 of Sahara. 



During the past ten years the champions of 

 bird life have made their influence widely felt. 

 In many a hard-fought contest the destroyers 

 have been routed, horse, foot and dragoons ; and 

 we believe that on the whole, the American peo- 

 ple have "not yet begun to fight" for their birds. 



NIGHT-"HAWK." 



