i8o 



AGRICULTURE. 



" Within certain limits, birds feed upon the kind of food that is most 

 accessible. Thus, as a rule, insectivorous birds eat the insects that are 

 most easily obtained, provided they do not have some peculiarly disagree- 

 able property. It is not probable that a bird habitually passes by one 

 kind of insect to look for another which is more appetizing, and there 

 seems little evidence in support of the theory that the selection of food is 

 restricted to any particular species of insect, for it is evident that a bird 

 eats those which, by its own method of seeking, are most easily obtained. 

 Thus, a ground-feeding bird eats those it finds among the dead leaves and 

 grass; a fly-catcher, watching for its prey from some vantage point, 

 captures entirely different kinds; and the woodpecker and warbler, in the 

 tree tops, select still others. It is thus apparent that a bird's diet is 

 likely to be quite varied, and to differ at different seasons of the year. 



" The practical value of birds in controlling insect pests should be 

 more generally recognized. It may be an easy mattter to exterminate the 

 birds in an orchard or grain field, but it is an extremely difficult one to 

 control the insect pests. It is certain, too, that the value of our native 

 sparrows as weed-destroyers is not appreciated. Weed seeds form an 

 important item of the winter food of these birds, and it is impossible to 

 estimate the immense numbers of noxious weeds which are thus annually 

 destroyed. 



'If birds are protected and encouraged to nest about the farm and 

 garden th . y will do their share in destroying noxious insects and weeds, 

 and a few hours spent in putting up boxes for bluebirds, martins and 

 wrens will prove a good investment. Birds are protected by law in many 

 states, but it remains for the agriculturists to see that the laws are faithfully 

 observed." 



PROF. F. E. L. BEAL, B.S., 



Asst. Ornithologist, Dept. of Agriculture, 



Washington, D.C. 



Build houses for the birds. Nesting boxes. 



