298 An American Fruit-Farm 



so reduced that the birds must resort to our trees, 

 vines, shrubs, and plants, and to the insects and 

 fungi which we indirectly propagate — or perish. 

 Civilization means largely the disturbance of the 

 wild. Civilization shears off natural vegetation 

 and introduces cultivated or man-made varieties 

 of plants with resulting plant diseases. We also 

 compel the insect world to feed upon our plants, 

 having destroyed all that vegetable life on which 

 it formerly fed. So both insects and birds are 

 compelled to forage in oiu* orchards and vineyards. 

 What must follow? A bird famine or a man 

 famine? Or shall we protect our own interests, 

 ward off famine, by raising enough for the birds 

 and ourselves also? Bird-food must come from 

 insects, fungi, or plant life. What is natural bird- 

 food? Elderberries, mulberries, wild cherries, 

 pokeberries, Virginia creeper, juniper berries, holly 

 berries, hackberries, huckleberries, — and these are 

 the natural food of some sixty-seven species of 

 birds. Does anybody plant motmtain-ash, silver- 

 berry, Chinaberry, buckthorn, barberry, pepper- 

 tree, snowberry, vibumimis, sumac? But these 

 are bird-food. Jimiper, black-currant, June- 

 berry, red raspberry, black raspberry, blackberry, 

 sarsaparilla, bird-cherry, hobble-bush, red osier, 

 choke-cherry were growing in American valleys 

 for ages before La Salle, Father Hennepin, and 

 their brave companions caught sight of the *' Great 

 Lake of the Cats,** which we call Lake Erie, or 

 discovered the great West. 



