Birds in Relation to Forestry. 85 



Where too plentiful, finches should be shot, as also wood 

 pigeons, but as the former destroy numerous insects, this action 

 should not be taken unless actually necessary. As Beal (12) re- 

 marks : " After years of misdirected effort, man is at last learning 

 the lesson that Nature's adjustments are not to be lightly set aside ; 

 that when undisturbed by his influence each species maintains a 

 certain normal maximum of abundance at which it does the most 

 good and the least harm ; and that its fluctuations either above or 

 below this normal are temporary and local from which it follows 

 that his best efforts should be directed to restore and maintain this 

 harmony, and, in all places where he is obliged to disturb it, he 

 should seek for means of counterbalancing the mischief. In the 

 case of insect depredations, while more immediate remedies may be 

 necessary at first, there is little room for doubt that the protection 

 and encouragement of insectivorous birds offer, in most cases, the 

 surest means of relief." 



