Birds and the Fruit-Farm 283 



appropriations from Congress — ^to do what? To 

 serve as artificial birds. Kill the birds and spray 

 Bordeaux mixture instead, and get Uncle Sam to 

 pay the bills! Funny, isn't it? 



In the public schools of the country there ma}'' 

 be found some 16,000,000 young Americans, the 

 *' rising hope of the nation/' How many of this 

 *'hope" ever hear one word of counsel, not to say 

 instruction, as to the value of birds to man? 

 Thousands of them *' collect" birds' eggs and nests, 

 not without wanton destruction of bird life, but 

 who among these rising millions learns in school 

 the lesson of lessons worth knowing, that human 

 life depends upon bird life, and therefore the pro- 

 tection of birds means civilization? What teacher, 

 what board of school trustees knows anything or 

 cares anything about this matter? How many 

 millions of dollars are paid by the taxpayers to 

 train "the rising hope, " and how much is actually 

 used to civilize the child as to the use, not to say 

 the rights, of birds? 



The word ''insects" or the word ''fungus" does 

 not occur in the Bible. There are thirty-three 

 verses, in the King James version, which mention 

 birds directly; perhaps as many more which spe- 

 cially refer to bird life. We are told that "the 

 birds of the air have nests. " This is according to 

 St. Luke. How soon must it be said, "The birds 

 of the air had nests"? Are clergymen, whatever 

 their church or creed, helping preserve the birds, 

 "each after his kind"? Are they at any time 



