BIRDS AND RODENTS 101 



Merriam, who as early as 1886 made the folio wing 'cbirimefks on the 

 then recently passed 'Scalp Act' of the State of Pennsylvania, and 

 subsequent investigations have confirmed his views;, : ''. - 



"On the 23d of June, 1885, the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed 

 an act known as the 'scalp act/ ostensibly 'for the benefit of agricul- 

 ture/ which provides a bounty of fifty cents each on Hawks, Owls, 

 weasels and minks killed within the limits of the State, and a fee of 

 twenty cents to the notary or justice taking affidavit. 



"By virtue of this act about $90,000 has been paid in bounties 

 during the year and a half that has elapsed since the law went into 

 effect. This represents the destruction of at least 128,571 of the above- 

 mentioned animals, most of which were Hawks and Owls. 



"Granting that 5,000 chickens are killed annually in Pennsylvania 

 by Hawks and Owls, and that they are worth twenty-five cents each 

 (a liberal estimate in view of the fact that a large portion of them are 

 killed when very young), the total loss would be $1,250, and the poul- 

 try killed in a year and a half would be worth $1,875. Hence it appears 

 that during the past eighteen months the State of Pennsylvania has 

 expended $90,000 to save its farmers a loss of $1,875. But this estimate 

 by no means represents the actual loss to the farmer and the taxpayer 

 of the State. It is within bounds to say that in the course of a year 

 every Hawk and Owl destroys at least a thousand mice or their equiva- 

 lent in insects, and that each mouse or its equivalent so destroyed 

 would cause the loss of two cents per annum. Therefore, omitting all 

 reference to the enormous increase in the numbers of these noxious 

 animals when nature's means of holding them in check has been removed, 

 the lowest possible estimate of the value to the farmer of each Hawk, 

 Owl, and weasel would be $20 a year, or $30 in a year and a half. 



"Hence, in addition to the $90,000 actually expended by the State 

 in destroying 128,571 of its benefactors, it has incurred a loss to its 

 agricultural interests of at least $3,857,130, or a total loss of $3,947,130 

 in a year and a half, which is at the rate of $2,631,420 per annum. In 

 other words, the State has thrown away $2,105 for every dollar saved! 

 And even this does not represent fairly the full loss, for the slaughter of 

 such a vast number of predaceous birds and mammals is almost certain 

 to be followed by a correspondingly enormous increase in the numbers 

 of mice and insects formerly held in check by them, and it will take many 

 years to restore the balance thus blindly destroyed through ignorance 

 of the economic relations of our common birds and mammals." 



Birds as Scavengers. Besides destroying various species of insects 

 inimical to the health of the human race, birds further increase the 

 healthfulness of the world by acting as scavengers. It would be diffi- 

 cult to overestimate the value of Buzzards, Vultures, and other offal- 

 eating birds to the countries in which they live. In most instances the 

 economic importance of these birds is too obvious to be overlooked, and 

 they are, therefore, protected by law, and by what is far more powerful 

 than law, public sentiment. 



