84 BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



greater task than ever Hercules performed. Man 

 seems to glory in certain forms of ignorance, and 

 when you speak of the positive, unqualified useful- 

 ness of birds to many a farmer, he will toss his head 

 and thunder forth, " You can't tell me anything about 

 that." You cannot effectively tell him, I admit 

 He is a hopeless fool ; but why not have his children 

 taught better before their minds are warped by their 

 idiotic sire? Our school-teachers have the oppor- 

 tunity, but I doubt if it is ever made use of. It is 

 missionary work that costs neither money nor lives, 

 and is as dignified as any other phase of human 

 activity. There are men who value a berry more 

 than a singing thrush, and wear themselves out in 

 chasing dimes, horticultural small fry that never 

 deal in dollars, and these are the men who set 

 snares for cat-birds in spite of the law of the State 

 protecting them. Indeed, unless a man shoots a 

 singing-bird on the highway or in the public park, 

 he is never molested. Then, too, there are sports- 

 men who claim that the world outside of city limits 

 is for their sole delectation, and demand the death 

 of every hawk and owl because these birds occasion- 

 ally dine on quail or grouse, a rare occurrence ; 

 such men are an unreasonable set that need check- 

 ing, for they have already wrought endless mischief. 

 Lastly, there are the mighty host of indifferent peo- 

 ple, men otherwise intelligent, but so engrossed with 

 personal affairs, so preoccupied with business, that 

 the song of a bird never falls upon their ears ; and 

 from them all the way down the scale of humanity 



