124 THE 
told how they destroyed forest-destroy- 
ing insects. He said that insects caus- 
ed an annual loss to the timber and 
forestry interests of the country of 
$100,000, and said: “We cannot hope 
to preserve our timbered areas with- 
out the exercise of proper methods of 
conservation, nor can the conserva- 
tionists hope for success in this direc- 
tion without the co-operation of the 
birds. 
“We can afford to spray those or- 
chard trees which yield an annual di- 
vidend in fruit, but, mechanical diffi- 
culties aside, we cannot afford to 
spray a tree which yields a crop only 
once in a lifetime. The forester can 
assist the birds but he cannot dis- 
pense with their services. 
“Let me now present from a wealth 
of data a few facts in support of this 
assertion that birds are essential to 
the continued existence of forests. The 
extent to which trees are preyed up- 
on by insects will be more fully rea- 
lized when I tell you that forty-one 
different species of insects infest the 
locust, eighty the elm, 105 the birch, 
165 the pine, 170 the hickory, 186 the 
willow, while the insect foes of the 
oak number over five hundred. 
“At no period of its life is the tree 
exempt from insect depredation, and 
every part of it is attacked, from the 
tinest rootlet to the terminal bud, 
blossom or fruit.” 
Mr. 
among 
Chapman asserted that “chief 
the 
He referred to the slaugh- 
enemies of birds is 
woman.” 
ter of birds in the quest for feathers, 
and spoke particularly of the passing 
of the white heron of the southern 
marshes, 
OOLOGIST 
White Tailed Ptarmigan. 
I should be very pleased to hear 
from any readers of THE OOLOGIST, 
who may have any authentic eggs of 
lagopus leucurus and any information 
as to When and where they were taken 
will be very much appreciated. I have 
two sets of this species, one of six 
eggs, and one of ten, with the latter 
set I also have both parents. Both 
sets were taken in the Rocky Moun- 
tains west of this city, and in each 
case the female showed remarkable 
tameness, In the case of the set of 
six eggs, the female sat while several 
photos were taken of her, and was 
then lifted off the eggs by hand (a 
fact) after which she strutted around 
making a clucking sound like an an- 
sry hen. This is the statement my 
collector gave me and I do not doubt 
ts : 
These two sets are the fruits of over 
fifteen years endeavor to secure the 
eges of this bird. 
G. F. DIPPIH, 
Calgary, Alberta, Can. 
WGULD SAVE BIRDS 
The Audubon Society at the Minnesota 
State Fair. 
The State Audubon society is mak- 
ing an appeal to save the harmless 
birds and its collection at the state 
‘fair shows the various songsters of 
Minnesota and tells their value. 
The society has been given a corner 
in the horticultural building, where its 
work is pictured and told by the at- 
tendants in charge. The society is 
aiming to prevent a slaughter of song 
birds in Minnesota similar to that re- 
cently in Tennessee where thousands 
of robins and other harmless birds 
were slain. 
