244 PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 



forces of education to the end that our Iowa birds may not perish from 

 the earth. Iowa Forestry and Conservation Association. Report 1914-15. 

 pp. 31-4. 



WILD BIRD PROTECTION IN IOWA. 

 By George Bennett. 



It is much too late in the day to plead the necessity for bird protec- 

 tion either on moral, aesthetic, or material grounds, as all this has 

 long been conceded by a sufficiently large portion of the thinking sec- 

 tion of the world, to establish it permanently in the curriculum of every- 

 day life. 



Suffice it to say, that, among other things, we lay down the principle 

 that bird protection is wise, because of the provided economic value of 

 the birds in feeding so largely on grubs and insects that prey on vegetable 

 life and on weed seeds which are a menace to crops. Also, the study of 

 bird life is a particularly valuable factor and fascinating medium in the 

 education of children, as well as adults, who, in the study of birds their 

 variety, characteristics and migratory instincts, find a subject worthy of 

 much study. 



Starting out from the premises that the birds should be protected, we 

 inquire how? They have been intentionally decimated and destroyed 

 with a determination and persistence that presents an unusually dark 

 picture to the nature lover. Again through the march of what we some- 

 times call civilization, the settler has so changed the phyiscal conditions 

 of the territory which he has invaded, that the swamp and thicket which 

 previously gave food and shelter to a variety of birds, have disappeared, 

 and naturally our feathered friends have disappeared with them. 



It may be taken for granted that f we all have read what that mighty 

 champion of the cause of living things, Dr. Hornaday of New York, has 

 to say in his book, "Our Vanishing Wild Life." In summing up the situa- 

 tion he would like to know, "What is to be done?" 



We will consider briefly a certain phase of our subject which stands 

 squarely in the way of dealing with it scientifically, and then address our- 

 selves to* advocating certain specific things which should be done at 

 once in our own state. 



If we would preserve our birds from being killed, we must curtail the 

 hunting spirit. At its worst the hunting spirit is bad and the shotgun a 

 diabolical weapon. This spirit should pass out of our civilization, being 

 utterly incompatible with our cause and having nothing but barbarism 

 and a vicious custom to recommend it. "The plea made by its votaries 

 that healthful and invigorating field and woodland experiences are its 

 accompaniment can be applied with equal and much more rational force 

 to the man who fires shots with a camera and obtains infinitely more de- 

 sirable results. Some hunters see in the steps taken to protect bird 

 life only the furnishing, at a later date, a greater number of victims for 

 their guns. This great hindrance standing directly in our path of en- 



