292 An American Fruit-Farm 



per cent, yearly waste of capital. Nothing is 

 gained by calling a spade by any other name. A 

 spade is a spade; a bird is a bird; a farmer is a 

 farmer. A wise farmer is not a foolish farmer. 

 But will the wise man forever suffer the foolish 

 man to injure the wise man? If the fooHsh fruit- 

 grower or the foolish farmer will not protect his 

 own, and thereby he injures his neighbor, shall the 

 neighbor submit tamely, quietly, smilingly, and 

 charge up the loss and no more, or shall he defend 

 his own substantial interests? A wise farmer is 

 better than an act of Congress or of Assembly. 

 How long will the farmers and the fruit-growers of 

 the country slvimber and suffer this wanton injury? 

 How long will they submit to this yearly loss of at 

 least one-eighth of the just results of their labor? 

 Are they less capable than the Standard Oil, or 

 the Cunard Line, or the General Electric? Come 

 on, men of wealth, and buy up the farms! Im- 

 prove them. Welcome Burbank and Bailey, 

 Experiment Stations, Schools of Agriculture! 

 Welcome governments, of Nation or of State! 

 Welcome all associations, societies, granges, clubs, 

 meetings, books, newspapers, speeches, conversa- 

 tions, ideas — ^welcome all actual thinking that 

 favors the protection of the birds! 



If farmers and fruit-growers do not suffer birds 

 to be destroyed, will their profits at the close of 

 the year be twelve per cent, increase? This de- 

 pends upon how our neighbors act. Our bird- 

 neighbors are in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, 



