THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



135 



The economic importance of keeping 

 Keep Robins our robins and bluebirds supplied 

 and Bluebirds with food is emphasized in a new 

 Supplied bulletin (No. 171) of the United 



Wih Food States Department of Agriculture, 



entitled "Food of the Robins and 

 Bluebirds of the United States." These two mem- 

 bers of the thrush family are most attractive and 

 desirable assistants to the farmer, reducing the in- 

 sects that prey on his crops besides eating a num- 

 ber of undesirable weed seeds. However, as they 

 are very generally distributed throughout the 

 United States, and are usually abundant wherever 

 found, it sometimes becomes a problem to provide 

 for them when the supply of insects and wild berries 

 is insufficient and the birds have to resort to culti- 

 vated crops to sustain life. In order to keep the 

 birds from destroying valuable crops the Depart- 

 ment's biologist advises that they be provided with 

 adequate supplies of wild fruits and berries by their 

 human friends. Ornamental trees and shrubs which 

 furnish these may be planted in the vicinity of culti- 

 vated crops for this purpose. 



The complainants against the robin generally 

 dwell on his fondness for cherries, strawberries, 

 blackberries, raspberries, pears, peaches, prunes, 

 grapes, and even olives in California. The blue- 

 bird's consumption of cultivated fruits seems more 

 limited, being practically confined to cherries, rasp- 

 berries and blackberries, and its fruit-eating period 

 is very short, being only from late fall to early 

 spring, when the insects which it prefers are scarce. 



The bulletin contains a list of ornamental plants 

 which, it is suggested, might be planted in regions 

 where the robin and bluebird are occasionally com- 

 pelled to feed on cultivated varieties of fruit and 

 berries. In olive regions, for instance, if a robin 

 can find such berries as Madrona, Heteromeles, and 

 Cascara, he will prefer them to the cultivated fruit 

 valued by man. Mistletoe and elderberries are 

 among the varieties recommended for the bluebird 

 in particular. Dogwood, pepper berries, china ber- 

 ries, and hackberries are popular with the robin and, 

 in the North, cedar, smilax, and holly give them 

 both food and shelter. 



It will prove a good investment for any farmer 

 to encourage the robin and the bluebird, consider-' 

 ing that they will more than compensate for occa- 

 sional depradations by the assistance rendered in 

 killing undesirable insects and that they can be 

 pretty effectually kept from eating valuable fruits 

 if thftt are provided with a supply of wild ones for 

 winter diet when insect food is scarce. 



Is your county planning to build 

 Financing some roads? If so, it should be 



Good Roadte ; your business as a citizen and prop- 

 What It erty owner to know whether this 



Means is going to be a good business 



proposition and conducted in a busi- 

 ness-like manner. 



While there is probably no better investment 

 for a farming community than good roads, this 

 sort of enterprise has its pitfalls. Guard against 

 them if possible. 



It is frequently easy for a county to issue 

 bonds and borrow money for improving the local 

 highways. The raising of the money to retire those 

 bonds at maturity is often not so simple. Many 

 counties, in borrowing money for bonds, figure that 

 the amount of money raised represents the total 

 cost of the road, forgetting that the road must be 

 maintained and repaired if, at the end of the term 

 of the bonds, the county is to have anything to 

 show for its investment. 



The question of financing country road build- 

 ing is discussed fully in Department of Agriculture 

 Bulletin No. 136, entitled "Highway Bonds," which 

 is written by the Office of Public Roads in collab- 

 oration with James W. Glover, Professor of Mathe- 

 matics and Insurance, University of Michigan. In 

 this bulletin the authors discuss fully the various 

 methods of financing road building and retiring 

 debts for road construction, and also deal frankly 

 with the actual total cost of a road during the life 

 of the bonds. On the total cost of a road the 

 authors cite the following two examples as afford- 

 ing at least a basis for estimating the total mini- 

 mum cost of a mile of road built with 20-year 

 bonds : 



Bituminous-macadam : 

 Cost of construction ($10,500) under 5 



per cent serial bond with interest for 



20 years $16,012.50 



Cost of annual repair and maintenance 



($600) for 20 years 12,000.00 



Total cost for 20 years $28,012.50 



Brick: 

 Cost of construction ($18,500) under 5 



per cent serial bond with interest for 



20 years $26,426.73 



Cost of annual repair and maintenance 



($300) for 20 years 6,000.00 



Total cost for 20 years $32,426.73 



The authors point out that the actual cost of 

 building and maintaining a specific highway can be 

 determined only after the character and volume of 

 traffic and actual wear and tear have been studied 

 for a series of years. 



