84 WESTERN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Protection of Birds, 



BY REV. W. A. BURMAN. 



Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen : A few days ago I 

 wrote to the chairman that it was impossible for me to pre- 

 pare anything- like an address on this subject. I have been 

 out of town and have been pressed in many ways for time, 

 but I may, perhaps, say a few words that will set some of you 

 thinking-. 



The relation of birds to horticulture and agriculture is 

 more or less understood by everybody. We are all familiar 

 with the crow with his dark glossy coat, but perhaps the 

 farmer is better acquainted with the blackbird. I am one of 

 those, and I hope 'there are a great many here, that think the 

 bird is always the friend of the agriculturist. There is only 

 one bird that does not belong- to the class, the English spar- 

 row, which is not a particular friend of the agriculturist. 

 When we consider birds in relation to the cultivation of the 

 soil for flowers or in any other way, we want to note for a 

 moment their place in nature. They have, of course, a very 

 important place to fill between animals and fishes and are 

 connected with those two great divisions in more ways than 

 one, but we have to consider them to-day in relation to their 

 habits and food. There are three divisions, the flesh-eating 

 birds, called the carnivorous, the birds that eat grain, called 

 the graminivorous, and the insect-eating birds called the 

 insectivorous. Perhaps it would help us to look at those 

 which feed on insects. Apart from any bearing on the sub- 

 ject, insects have a great deal to do with the ripening of 

 fruits. Indirectly a large quantity of the fruits grown here 

 depends on insects for the setting of their blossoms. The 

 want of them may very seriously affect the setting and the 

 ripening of our fruits. We cannot afford to leave out of con- 

 sideration the effect of insect life. You will find that wher- 

 ever the birds have been destroyed the insects are too 

 numerous. Nature, if left alone, will keep the- balance. 



