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A N J) HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



^ 



PUULISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (AoRicuLTuaxi. Warehouse.)— ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 6, 1842. 



[NO. 1. 



N. E. FARMER. 



For the N. E. Farmer. 



"SPARE THE BIRDS," OR KILL THEM? 



.Mr Editor — Sir — We have become almost as 

 familiar willi the pliraso, " Sparc the birds," as we 

 havo with the cloclriiie that we should spare tlie 

 life of the murdprer. 



The liawk comes liown, ami kills and carries off 

 my poultry : th') response of the newspapers is, 

 " spnrc the birds." 



My currants, my strawberries, and my cherries, 

 are not yet lialf ripe, but while I am writing-, tiie 

 crested larks, and other robbers, are carrying them 

 off, ami destroyintj the whole crops, without show- 

 ing the least disposition to leave me even a tithe of 

 them. But instead of this, for my comfort when I 

 take up a newspaper and learn from its pages, that 

 in the legislature of Connecticut, Dr. D., of N., 

 has done honor both to his head and his heart, by 

 delivering hnnself of a plea tliat the people would 

 spare tht birds." 



If I leave my carriage in my barn, who can count 

 the number of the places which will bo defiled by 

 the swallows, which build their nests in barns? 

 When I wish for rest, the cliimney swallows pay 

 no regard to my need of repose, and they thunder 

 along the flues of the chimney, frequently giving 

 us an idea of the rattling of coaches, the sound of 

 distant artillery, or the rumbling of an earthquake. 



I am very fond of raspberries, and have culti- 

 vated a number of kinds, but the birds steal away 

 all they can get from me. 



I am an admirer of cherries and of mulberries, 

 particularly of the black ones, and have set out a 

 tiumber of trees, but since they have grown large, 

 though the trees bear abundantly, the robins and 

 other birds steal them so constantly and so pcrse- 

 veringly, that / can scarcely get a single ripe one 

 during the season. 



1 am a great lover of grapes, and have cultivated 

 a number of vines, but after the rose-biigs have 

 eaten what they can in the spring, the birds claim 

 the remainder, as soon as they ripen. 



My family like green peas, but the birds cl.'iim 

 the privilege of being served and helped first. 



Myself and my family like corn — but the crows, 

 the brown thrushes and the b'lackbirds combine to 

 prevent my having any part of the crop. 



I cultivate garden seeds, but find it very difficult 

 ;o secure my Centaurea, my Leontodon, my tur- 

 nips, my ruta baga, my cabbage, or my lettuce 

 3eeds, from the yellow and other birds, which de- 

 light in stealing away the fruits of my labors; and 

 if in addition to stealing my fruits, they do not de- 

 stroy more than .$100 a year for me otherwise, it 

 does not seem to be their fault, for they seem de- 

 termined to do all they can. 



" But the birds sing !" True, they seem to fly 

 iway very joyously, and pour forth their songs in 

 great glee, after they have robbed me of my trea- 

 sures; but / had much rather have juy, and smiles, 

 and songs, in my family, all called forth by the en- 



joyment of the luxuriant fruits which I have ciilli 

 vatcd at so much e.ipeuse, and by the enjoymcni 

 of plentilul crops, which supply my wite and chil 

 dren with food, than to have my.-elf and f ciiiily loll 

 destitute, that the birds may rejoice that they have 

 stolen from us our crops. 



But, say the pseudo-benevolent bird praisers, the 

 birds catch the insecls. But is this true to any val 

 uable oxloiu ? "['he caterpillars, of various kinds 

 eat up our trees, and eat they may, for what the' 

 birds do, or fur what the birds care; and 1 have 

 never known hut one kind of birds to show any dis- 

 po.sitiou to touch the caterpillars at all — and that 

 kind of bird rarely ever meddles with them. The 

 buzzing beetles are nearly as thick as hail stones in 

 a shower, but I never knew a bird to catch one of 

 them. The cut toorms eat off my beans, potatoes, 

 corn, &.C., but the birds do not prevent it. The 

 canlicr worms have eaten the leaves from many ap- 

 ple trees in this State, this season, till the trees 

 appear as if they had been burnt to death with fire ; 

 but I do not know that the birds have yet caught one 

 of them. The rose bugs make great destiuction 

 among our roses, cherrie.s, peaches, pears and ap- 

 ples ; but our birds never disturb the rose bugs at 

 all. True, the birds sometimes catch a harmless 

 dew worm, but the dew worms never eat or injure 

 our vegetables or our fruits, that I know of. Thus 

 the zeal to "spare tht birds," seems, in effect, only 

 to give us additional destroyers, and destroyers too 

 of no very small degree of activity. 



But why should we spare these robbers for their 

 fine plumage (M- for their fine voices, any more than 

 we would excuse any other thief for the commis- 

 sion of his crimes, because he also wore a fine coat, 

 or had an agreeable voice. I had much rather eat 

 good ripe strawberries, and cherries, and mulber- 

 ries, and raspberries, and currants, than to lose all 

 these for the sake of looking at fine feathers. 



In short, Mr Editor, if you do not kindly give us 

 in your valuable paper, something on this subject 

 which shall be on the side .of justice, I fear that it 

 will not be long before the unreasonable rage for 

 the protection of the birds will be as great as the 

 rage which formerly existed for the destruction of 

 witches, and that it will not be long, before our 

 legislators, forgetful of the protection of their con- 

 stituents, will be found spending their time in le- 

 gislating for the protection of birds, and in render- 

 ing it penal for us to defend our vegetable produc- 

 tions and our most valuable crops and fruits from 

 the attacks of a ceriain claws of robbers, especially 

 i|f the robbers wear toie feathers and have fine voices. 

 Yours, truly, JUSTICE. 



East Haddnm, Conn., June 2Qth, 1842. 



OC/'Here we have it. We looked for a shot, 

 though we knern not whence it would come. Wo 

 are met openly and honoraby, and the aim is true: 

 but if we are brought down, we do not yet know it. 



Soberly — we knew when we cried "Spare the 

 birds," that they will rob; and "Justice" has only 

 pleasantly over stated the extent of their depreda- 

 tions. The question has two sides, and we are ready 

 to admit a defence of either to our columns. fVe 



still repeat, "Spare the birds" — because we believe 

 it is easy to get from I horn more good than harm. 

 The songs and the feathers we let pass : on the 

 ground of profit and loss we are willing to stand. 

 'I'he cherry -bird, (orchard oreole ?) tufted robin, 

 tufted lark, canker-worm bird, or whatever else its 

 name, does feed, and often freely, upon the canker- 

 worm. Swallows feed entirely upon insects — cer- 

 tainly not upon the crops — and some scii^en might 

 be put between the carriage and their nest-t. The 

 crows and blackbirds do feed much upon worms 

 and upon the cut-worm while it is taking its early 

 dawn crawl from stalk to stalk. Most of the birds 

 live much of the year upon insects, which if not 

 thus thinned off, would greatly multiply — and as 

 we think, would soon do us more harm than we 

 now receive from the birds. Would they ? This 

 is the question'. Neither side can be proved ; — 

 opinion is all that we can get. But there are facts 

 that should havo some influence in detcr.'nining 

 opinion. 



In the towns around Boston in which fruit is 

 raised extensively, the cultivators of fruit strive to 

 save the birds. They are willing to let them take 

 cherries, in consideration of the many bun-s and 

 worms destroyed by them. And the cherry is the 

 principal fruit upon which they make very exten- 

 sive depredations. 



Seeds generally would be better, if the stalks 

 bearing them were cut up about as early as the 

 time when the birds begin to peck open the pods. 



Regarding the statements of " Justice" as plea- 

 sant exaggerations on his side, we presume there 

 is no occasion for us to say more in reply. Should 

 he or other.s wish to go farther into the matter, our 

 columns are open for its discussion, and we are 

 willing to look deeper into it En. N. E. F. 



KEEPING HORSES IN BARN CELLARS. 



Mr Putnam — I noticed an article in your pa- 

 per of this week, inquiring about keeping horses in 

 barn cellars. In regard to the subject of compari- 

 son, I have nothing to say, as I have had no expe- 

 rjence. But as regards keeping horses in the 

 basement story, I have stabled mine in the cellar 

 the last eight years, and have had no difficulty 

 whatever; but on the contrary, like it for the rea- 

 sons assigned by the inquirer. If the inquirer 

 thinks it not too far, and will call on me, I will 

 give him all tlio information in my power. 



JOSEPH HOW. 



Methuen, June '>,o, 1842. 



An old picture represents a king sitting instate, 

 with a label, " I govern all" — a bishop with a le- 

 gend, " I pray for all" — a soldier with a motto, 

 " I fight for all" — and a farmer, drawing forth re- 

 luctantly a purse, with the superscription, '^ I pay 

 for all'."' 



Poor Richard says that " time is money," and 

 some folks make it the kind of currency to pay 

 debts in ; and a great deal of time they take to 

 do it. — Exch. pap. 



