268 The Great World's Farm 



with the destruction of birds, even though we must know, 

 as a matter of fact, that the latter Hve mainly upon the 

 former, and that therefore for every bird killed, so many 

 grubs must be left alive. 



It is now some thirty years since piteous complaints 

 were rife in Germany and Switzerland of the alarming 

 increase in the number of destructive insects, which made 

 their appearance in overwhelming swarms, and inflicted 

 the greatest injury on the fields. And at last it occurred 

 to the authorities that insects had multiplied because birds 

 had to so large an extent vanished. The "militia" had, 

 in fact, been either killed off or driven away; they had 

 been destroyed in the most insane manner, in ignorance 

 and sheer wantonness ; and also they had been * * improved' ' 

 away by the spread of agriculture. In whatsoever way it 

 had come to pass, the result was the same — there were 

 fewer birds, there were more grubs; and as the latter 

 increase much more rapidly than the former, the prospect 

 was a dismal one. The land was being devoured. 



And it was devoured, partly at least, because more had 

 been taken into cultivation. For woods and thickets and 

 groups of trees had been cut down to make way for fields; 

 and land being precious, hedges were considered an 

 unnecessary extravagance. There are, of course, still 

 extensive woods and forests in Germany, but one may 

 travel many a long mile without seeing any of the hedge- 

 rows with which he is familiar in England. The fields 

 are for the most part one large expanse, without any 

 bordering of trees or bushes. 



But it is quite possible to be too thrifty. If every foot 

 of land is occupied by crops, where are the birds to build 

 their nests.? Most of them need more shelter than is to 



