fitfefcs of put* 23 



he tells lis, " the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed an 

 act known as the 'scalp act/ ostensibly 'for the benefit 

 of agriculture,' which provides i bounty of 50 cents 

 each on hawks, owls, W$ftflels, and* minks killed within 

 the limits of the Stat*-, ahd i fee of 20 cents to the 

 botarj or justice taking the affidavit 



■ !'.\ virtue oi thfe td about $90,000 has been paid 

 in bounties during the year end n half that has elapsed 

 since the law went Into effect This represent* the 

 destruction of at least 128,51 l oi the above-mentioned 

 animals, most of which were hawks and owls. 



* Granting thai 5,000 chickens are killed annually 



nnsylvanis by hawk- and owls, and that they are 



worth 88 cents each (l liberal estimate in view of the 



tad that a large portion of them are killed when very 



young), the total loss would be $1,250, and the poultry 



killed in a year and a half would be worth $1,875. Hence 



it appears that during the past eighteen months the 



oi Pennsylvania has expended I re the 



fanner a loss of $1,875. Bttl this estimate hj no means 

 represents the actual loss to the fanner and taxpayer 

 of the State. It il within bounds to say that in the 

 course of a year tverj hawk and owl destroys at 

 a thousand nice or their equivalent in insects, and 

 that each mouse or its equivalent M de stroy ed would 

 cause the farmers a loss of two cents per annum. There- 

 omitting nil reference to the numerous increase in 

 the numbers of these noxious animals when nature's 

 BS of holding them in check has been removed, the 

 lowest possible estimate of the value to the farmer of 



