Birds and the Fruit-Farm 



281 



In the State of Pennsylvania, alone diiring that 

 year, the loss by ravage of insects was greater than 

 the entire income of the Lake Shore Valley, a 

 hundred times over. 



Birds preserve the balance between all food 

 products and insect and fungous enemies. De- 

 stroy birds and this balance is destroyed; nor can 

 spraying restore the balance; nor can cultivation. 

 Let Nature have her way. She is our best friend. 

 Vain men think they know better what to do than 

 Nature. The whole secret of fruit-growing is to 

 be on the side of Nature. Bird-destruction means 

 wasted work, wasted crops, the perilous increase of 

 insect and fungous pests. What makes a farmer 

 more wrathful than to discover a trespasser min- 

 ing his crops; stealing his fruit, snaring his fowls, 

 catching his fish.'^ But when a dozen tiulle-doves 

 settle down in the wheat-stubble, the farmer gets 

 his gun, or suffers another to get a gun, and hurries 

 out to kill. All the tramps, trespassers (except 

 pothunters), and thieves combined injiire the 

 farmers less than the farmers injure themselves 

 by wanton destruction of birds. Funny, isn't it? 



All the strikers all over the United States, in all 

 the strikes and destruction of property during the 

 year 19 12, did not destroy property to more than 

 one-tenth of the destruction wrought by insects 

 to farm products. Farmers and fruit-growers 

 speak severely of ''strikes'* and "strikers*' in the 

 manufacturing towns of the country. What may 

 the strikers truly say of farmers and fruit-growers? 



