birds, and are encouraged to study their habits, the desire to shoot them or to rob 

 them of their eggs will be very materially lessened. It is a common practice for some 

 farmers to burn their land over in the Spring, usually about nesting time. Three 

 years ago, and as far back of that as I can remember, a small ravine or valley was 

 teeming with bird life; it was the most favored spot that I know of, for the variety 

 and numbers of its bird tenants. Last year, towards the end of May, this place was 

 deliberately burned over by the owner. Twenty-seven nests that I know of, some 

 with young, others with eggs, and still others in the process of construction, were 

 destroyed, besides hundreds of others that I had never seen. This year the same 

 thing was done earlier in the season, and not a bird nested here, and, late in Summer, 

 only a few clumps of ferns have found courage to appear above the blackened grouml. 

 Farmers also cut off a great many patches of underbrush that might just as well 

 have been left, thus, for lack of suitable places for their homes, driving away some 

 of their most valuable assistants. The cutting off of woods and forests is an impor- 

 tant factor in the decrease of bird life, as well as upon the climate of the country. 



Our winter birds have their hardships when snow covers the weed tops, and a 

 coating of ice covers the trees, so that they can neither get seeds nor grubs. During 

 the nesting season, we often have long-continued rains which sometimes cause an 

 enormous loss of life to insect-eating birds and their young. In 1903, after a few 

 weeks' steady rain and damp weather, not a Purple Martin could be found in Wor- 

 cester County, nor, as far as I know, in New England; they were wholly unable to get 



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