AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 89 



NEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE UTILITY OP PRESERVINa 

 BIEDS INTERESTING TO AGRICULTUIIE. 



" In my July pamphlet, I spoke of the disease of plants, as caused by 

 certain insects, and I uttered the wish that government would take suita- 

 ble measures for the destruction of such as were injurious, and protection 

 of the useful birds, by providing for the security of their eggs and nests, 

 and themselves, also. Large numbers and sorts of birds, not only kill our 

 enemy insects, but also efficaciously hinder the reproduction of plants 

 hurtful to agriculture and horticulture. Among some others of our native 

 birds, our larks eat up the seeds of tares, thistles, corn poppy, blue bottle, 

 wild mustard, and others.' It is true, that after those are gone, the birds 

 eat a little of our grain, but generally such grain as was not covered with 

 the harrow when planted, and which when it grows is rather hurtful than 

 good to the growing crop, being incomplete, and in a measure stopping 

 the circulation of air among the good plants, as well as consuming the 

 fertility of the land. These tithes (dime) which they take of our grain, 

 they earn for clearing the field. This lark not only eats some seeds, but 

 insects also, especially worms and caterpillars, chrysalides, ant's eggs, 

 crickets, grasshoppers, and with which they also feed their young. They 

 eat the innumerable larva3 of the cecidomia so destructive of grain. 

 Linnets, which we often see in flocks, render like service. The goldfinch 

 is another able friend. The chaffinch, (or finch,) the green grosbeak, the 

 wagtail — these are sometimes shut up in thebarn with the threshed grain, 

 to destroy the caterpillars, butterfly moths, weavils, and the larvae. As 

 to the sparrows, they destroy immense numbers of caterpillars and 

 beetles. Rats and mice are destructive of our grain in barns. Let the 

 night birds live about us. The owl and others. They make perpetual 

 war on rats and mice, and we have, say 4,326,000 heads of families in the 

 country. Let the night birds be preserved by each master, and the saving 

 of our food would be not less than nearly thirteen millions of hectolitres, 

 or thirtii-fo2ir millions of English bushels of grain, and more. 



II. Meigs. — The destructive insects have always been famous. Sacred 

 and profane history speak much of them. Among the advances society 

 has recently made, this one has not received that attention its vast impor- 

 tance demands. There is a necessity for determining with the utmost 

 precision the habits and exact time that we may apply our energies thus, 

 and not waste them as we have done. We must extinguish the sparks and 

 not wait until there is a flame. 



In 1850, the Farmers' Club requested the New Jersey government to 

 protect that class of small birds which destroys insects hurtful to our crops, 

 and in March, 1850, that State passed the following act and had enforced 

 its provisions, viz : 



Substance. — Not lawful for any man to kill, (except on his own prem- 

 ises,) the night or musquito hawk, chimney swallow, barn swallow, martin 

 or swift, whipporwill, cuckoo, king-bird or bee martin, woodpecker, claip 



