352 



Birds and the Bird Law. 



Vol. XI. 



but not large; the Flat Dutch is a certain 

 and profitable kind, with very firm heads; 

 the Large Drumhead is the largest and most 

 common winter variety; and the Drumhead 

 Savoy is much approved around Philadel- 

 phia and other places, for winter use. It is 

 said to be more delicate than the old Drum- 

 head, and equally large. Cabbage seeds, 

 for an early crop, should be sown in the fall, 

 and protected during winter; or sown in a 

 hot-bed in March or April, and transplanted 

 as soon as of sufficient size. For winter 

 use they may be sown in the open ground, 

 any time during May, or the first week in 

 June, or seeds may be dropped in hills, where 

 the plants are to remain. The soil for cab- 

 bages must be deep, moist, very rich, and 

 well worked. 



Birds and the Bird Law. 



Before we shoot the birds which flock around our 

 dwellings, and make the trees lively with their song— 

 or which follow us after the plough, it may be well to 

 inquire pretty closely, whether or not, the war we 

 wage against them be a just one, or whether it be not 

 in opposition to our interests: or— in plain English, 

 whether they do us more good or harm? For ourselves, 

 one of the delights of the farm house— and they are 

 not few in number — ever was, to witness around it 

 the different varieties of domestic fowls— to enjoy the 

 life and music in the trees, and the skipping and vigi. 

 lant search of the bird in the furrow. Our friend gives 

 a good account below of a number of them, and we 

 are desirous they should derive all the benefit possible 

 from it.— Ed. 



" The time of the singing of birds" having 

 come, it is natural to ask, how we ought to 

 receive and treat our visitors. The law has 

 told us, we must not shoot at or kill them, 

 and we must not destroy their nests on any 

 lands but our own. On our own farms they 

 are out of the protection of the law — they 

 have there no security for their lives but our 

 kindly feelings or self interest. No doubt 

 this will be all the security they need, when 

 it is fully understood that they come to us in 

 the most confiding innocence, not intending 

 us harm if they do any, and conferring upon 

 us benefits which no other part of the animal 

 creation can confer. Were there no birds 

 to keep in check the myriads of voracious 

 insects which swarm around us, our country, 

 it may well be believed, would cease to be 

 habitable by man. We may form some idea 

 of the va-lue of birds, from calculating the 

 labours of a single species. Each red-winged 

 blackbird devours on an average fifty grubs 

 a day. One pair in four months consumes 

 nfiore than 12,000. If there are in New 

 England one million pairs of these birds, 

 then they will consume twelve thousand 



millions of grubs in one summer. If any 

 one can calculate the amount of injury that 

 such an army of insects might do, he may 

 calculate the amount of benefit which we 

 derive from this single species of birds, for 

 one season only. And this is but one out of 

 a hundred species of birds, whose main bu- 

 siness it is, by a wise appointment of Provi- 

 dence, to protect man from his insect ene- 

 mies. 



Let us take a brief review of our friendly 

 auxiliaries. 



1. The Meadow Lark. — It does one's 

 heart good to hear his sweet song. The 

 gunner should spare him for that alone. His 

 food is insects and berries — not however any ' 

 berries used by ourselves. 



2. Baltimore Oriole, or Hanging-bird. In 

 spring his food is almost wholly insects. In 

 cherry time we rather wish he would stay 

 in the woods; and yet he is so busy in catch- 

 ing the pea-bugs, that perhaps he fairly bal- 

 ances accounts with us even then. I have 

 seen him do one piece of mischief that was 

 provoking. He would pick a cherry blos- 

 som, lay it on a limb and clap his foot upon 

 it so as to hold it down, and then pick out 

 the embryo cherry from the centre of the 

 blossom. I have often been tempted to shoot 

 the fellow ; but as he left blossoms enough, 

 I concluded to let him pass, for the good he 

 does in keeping the peas free from bugs. 



3. Red-winged Blackbird. — He will gen- 

 erally be seen in the newly ploughed field 

 picking up the grubs. I have given above, 

 an estimate of his services. 



4. Rice Bunting, or Bob-o-link, — skunk 

 blackbird. His food is crickets, grasshop- 

 pers, and ground-spiders. 



5. Crow Blackbird. — He devours immense 

 numbers of insects, grubs and caterpillars. 

 But he pulls up corn. He is therefore both 

 friend and foe — a foe for two or three weeks ; 

 a friend for all the rest of the summer. Pro- 

 fessor Kirtland — Zoology of Ohio — makes 

 the following remarks respecting this bird. 

 "He is one of the species against which the 

 efforts not only of idle boys, but our farmers 

 are directed on account of its habits of at- 

 tacking the Indian corn. It is somewhat 

 vexatious, to be sure, to have this injury 

 done our corn crops; but before the farmer 

 engages in the warfare against these birds, 

 he should take into consideration the fact 

 that they save ten times the amount of corn 

 they destroy. They pick up thousands of 

 insects that would do far greater damage. 

 There are only two short periods while they 

 remain with us that they eat vegetable food; 

 in the spring when the corn is sprouting 

 from the ground, and in autumn when it is 

 mature. The remainder of their suramer'a 



