Why Bird Sanctuaries Are 



a Rational V\[eed 



By Zoe Beckley 



Old MAN JONES was a farmer, a supposedly prac- 

 tical, up-to-date farmer, intelligent and upright, 

 but like many other farmers, he wasn't quite as ad- 

 vanced as a farmer of this very advanced age should 



be. Among other things, he didn't 



know quite as much about nature 



and the ways and values of nature's 



workers as he should have known, 



otherwise he might have been a richer, 



happier man. 



One spring he planted a lot of wheat — excellent 



wheat. In due time it came up — tall graceful 



stalks with bearded ears atop, waving gently in the 



sun and wind, under the broad blue sky. 



One fine morning, very early, before Jones was 

 out, a rly came and lit upon a wheat stalk. He 

 was small and blackish, with red lines on his 

 back — a mere midge. His family and friends fol- 

 lowed almost immediately, settling on neighboring 

 stalks and making themselves at home. Nobody 

 noticed them except a pair of little brown birds 

 who looked down upon the midge family as they 

 rlew swiftly over the field. The Sunday before, 

 these feathered sentinels had made the mistake of 

 stopping to eat a cankerworm and a caterpillar on 



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