REASONS WHY 53 
were picked up and sent to him by various lighthouse 
keepers along the coast who knew his interest and that he 
would gladly pay them for their trouble. By and by, when 
we come to the stories of the flight of some of those birds, 
you will be amazed to see what frail little things have 
ventured miles away in their travels; even tiny Humming- 
birds came to my husband in this way. This danger 
grows greater every day because of the many tall build- 
ings in the cities that are almost always located by rivers, 
for to follow these waterways seems to be the birds’ 
favourite way of travelling. 
THE USES OF BIRDS 
What the Birds do for us 
“Perhaps even those of you who love birds have never 
thought very much about their ways of life. You are so 
accustomed to seeing them fly about, and to hearing them 
sing, that you do not realize what a strange, unnatural, 
silent thing springtime would be if the birds should all 
suddenly disappear. 
“Yes, indeed, the world would be sad and lonely without 
these beautiful winged voices. But something even more 
dreadful would happen should they leave us: the people 
of the world would be in danger of starving, because the 
birds would not be here to feed on the myriad worms and 
insects that eat the wheat and corn and fruits upon which 
we, together with other animals, depend for food. 
“The insects gnawing at the roots of the pasture grasses 
would destroy both the summer grazing for the cattle 
and the hay for winter fodder; if worms destroyed the 
