198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE [Pub. Doc. 



Large numbers of people are now interested in the agricul- 

 tural value of birds and the increase of insect pests that 

 follows so closely on the heels of the decrease of birds. The 

 general decrease of a few species of birds in l^ew England 

 this year has been followed by an increase in cutworms, tree 

 caterj)illars and grasshoppers, and it is safe to predict that 

 this increase of insects will be still more noticeable in the 

 year 1913. A monthly article on birds and their protection 

 has been given to a large number of Massachusetts papers, 

 and the matter has circulated also throughout New England 

 and has been copied more or less by papers in other parts of 

 the country. Some papers which have not printed the arti- 

 cles as written have used them as the subjects of editorials. 

 These articles have led to considerable correspondence. 

 Many papers which have not printed the articles in full have 

 taken up editorially the protection of birds ; some of their 

 editorials show a growing appreciation of present-day con- 

 ditions, an increasing knowledge of the subject and much in- 

 terest on the part of editors. 



The following extract from a leader in the " Boston Tran- 

 script " illustrates this : — 



What too many of ns fail to appreciate, until the matter is in 

 some way brought forcibly to mind, is that in building cities and in 

 cultivating fields which once were forests, and in otherwise altering 

 the aspect of the surface of the earth, man has interfered with the 

 balance of nature. It is on this account that special efforts are 

 necessary on his part to restore that balance and to make provision 

 for the protection, and to a degree even the housing and the feeding, 

 of the birds who as his allies will prey upon the pests that would 

 otlierwise injure his crops. When one comes to think of it the 

 affair illustrates anew the wonderful scheme of nature and the 

 very real relation between beauty and utility. Here once more is 

 a demonstration of the great and ijractieal value from the utili- 

 tarian standpoint of that which the lovers of birds would urge 

 partly on other grounds. Just as the intelligent conservation of 

 forests has been shown of practical value in equalizing the flow 

 of streams and in diminishing the severity and disastrous effects of 

 spring floods, so does the .preservation of the birds aj^pear a matter 

 which should recommend itself to the hard common sense of those 

 who pride themselves on being " practical men." 



