It is not desirable to have a lot of 

 evergreens around a dwelling house ; the 

 wind, whistling through them, "sounds 

 too much like a cemetery." It would be 

 well, however, to plant in groves to en- 

 courage as nesting places for birds. 



A LAMENTABLE BLUNDER 



has been made in destroying our "feath- 

 ered friends." A French naturalist has 

 set forth the fact that the human race 

 could not exist over nine years if all our 

 insectiverous birds were destroyed. Kind 

 Mother Nature has varied her general 

 plans here ; she has arranged so that we 

 might not have to wait till our enemies 

 (the bugs) die of old age, but has given 

 us the birds to "catch 'em alive." But 

 we, foolish children, have slaughtered 

 our best friends, the birds. The swallow 

 is said to capture some 3,0x30 flies in a 

 day ; the chickadee is the destroyer of 

 the eggs of the canker worm ; the mead- 

 ow-lark feeds on bugs, as do also the 

 blackbird, crow and a host of other kinds. 

 Among the friends of mankind none is 

 more faithful than the beautiful, half-domestic quail. In 1900 a great agitation arose in 

 Ohio, which looked like a war between sportsmen and the farmers. The real facts were, 

 the agriculturists were struggling to have the quail placed under perpetual protection, 

 on account of their inestimable value as destroyers of innumerable hosts of bugs and 

 other enemies of the farmer. City people, as well as agriculturists, must learn the 

 grave fact that we cannot destroy our friends without paying the penalty. The shooting 

 of birds for sport has had a baneful effect. We should teach our children the great mis- 

 take of doing so. Marksmanship, however, should be taught in our public schools, to 

 both boys and girls. It strengthens the arm muscles and gives a strong nerve, and 

 confidence takes the place of timidity and fear. Woe the nation, then, that would 

 assail Uncle Sam ! 



Photo 130. 



Photo 131. 



61 



