BIRDS IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURE 175 



The bird census conducted by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for the years 1914 and 1915 showed 

 that on the farms of the northeastern States there was about 

 one pair of birds to the acre, which is much less than it would 

 be if the birds were given proper protection and encourage- 

 ment. For example, it was found in 1915 that where the 

 birds were protected on a farm of 40 acres near Middletown, 

 Conn., containing 10 acres of ploughed land, 3 acres of wood- 

 land, 5 acres of pasture, 12 acres of orchard, and 20 acres 

 of meadow, this farm had a bird population of 165 pairs of 

 native birds, 8 pairs of house-sparrows, and 15 pairs of star- 

 lings, making a total of 188 pairs of breeding birds, or more 

 than four times the average. 



Mr. W. E. Saunders has given an excellent example of 

 the result of protecting and encouraging birds. The owner 

 of about three-quarters of an acre of land surrounding a 

 summer cottage in the Rideau Lakes, Ontario, decided to 

 encourage the birds. When the experiment was com- 

 menced there were five pairs of breeding birds in this area. 

 In five years, by the provision of nesting-boxes and the 

 elimination of cats, the bird population had increased to 

 thirty-three pairs of breeding birds. In seventeen bird- 

 boxes he had fifteen pairs of tree swallows, as well as two 

 pairs of each of five other species, and one pair of each of 

 five others near by. 



The conclusion reached from the United States bird census 

 was that the birds are too few on the farms, and that they 

 may be largely increased by protection and a little care in 

 furnishing natural food and shelter. Such bird populations 

 as 70 pairs of native birds of 31 species in 8 acres, at Olney, 

 111.; 135 pairs of 24 species on 5 acres, at Wild Acre, Md.; 

 193 pairs of 62 species on 44 acres, at Indianapolis, Ind. ; 

 and 189 pairs of 40 species, on 23 acres at Chevy Chase, 

 Md., a half acre of which showed 20 pairs of 14 different 

 species, all indicate how readily birds will respond to food, 

 shelter, and protection. 



