MY FARMER FRIENDS. 



(IN NORTHERN INDIANA.) 

 PART I. 



Until a few years ago, most people 

 thought that all song-birds were pretty 

 and could sing, sweetly. That is true of 

 most birds, but recent investigations have 

 disclosed some startling facts. The part 

 that our common birds play in the econ- 

 omy of nature is of great importance. 

 When it comes to a bird destroying sev- 

 eral thousand noxious insects in a single 

 season, even the most obtuse will 

 acknowledge that they are of some value 

 aside from the generally accepted idea. 



To begin with, there is the robin, prob- 

 ably the best known of our native birds. 

 He builds his nest in the apple or cherry 

 tree or, may be, right under the eaves 

 of the porch. Through the days of court- 

 ship and while the patient mother broods, 

 they do not consume so much food, but 

 when four little robins make an appear- 

 ance then the demand for food is greatly 

 increased. From early morning till late 

 in the evening these voracious youngsters 

 constantly clamor for food. Both the 

 parent birds work, and work hard too. 

 One robin has been known to destroy as 

 many as two hundred cut worms in a 

 single morning. When the amount of 

 damage these worms do is taken into con- 

 sideration, the value of their services be- 

 comes plain. It is true that later on they 

 consume a little small fruit and some 

 cherries. But just as soon as wild fruits 

 ripen, Mr. Robin and family forsake the 

 tame for the wild. Recent investigations 

 by the Department of Agriculture show 

 that the robin eats ten times as much 

 wild as tame fruit ; noxious insects form 

 about one-third of its diet. The wild 

 fruits that they consume are not those 

 adopted by man to any extent. So on 

 the whole they are highly beneficial from 

 a mere mercenary stand-point. 



Closely connected with the robin in 

 song and story is the bluebird. Lowell 

 aptly describes him in spring as "Shift- 

 ing his light load of song, From post to 

 post along the cheerless fence." He is 

 a bright spot in the dull landscape of 

 March and when he finds a bird-house, 



an old wood-pecker's nest or even a knot- 

 hole you may be sure of having some 

 sweet music. The song is so melodious, 

 — as tremulous as if it were not a part of 

 early spring weather. Even the most 

 careless will be struck with the beauty of 

 his cobalt blue back and cinnamon breast, 

 And he plays an important part in the 

 economy of nature. The characteristics 

 of the worm and insect-eating family are 

 plainly shown in the long slender bill. 

 About three-fourths of its food consists 

 of insects and allied forms. Of these, 

 the majority are harmful to the farmer. 

 In one orchard infested with canker- 

 worms it was found that the worms 

 formed about sixty per cent of its diet. 

 Some beneficial insects such as preda- 

 ceous beetles were consumed but by far 

 the most were detrimental. The Depart- 

 ment earnestly recommends its propaga- 

 tion. These two birds frequent the 

 house and door-yard in city as well as in 

 country. 



Now we turn to the meadowlark. It 

 is distinctly a bird of the fields. Born 

 on the ground among the blossoming 

 clover or timothy it spends its whole life 

 in the free air of the fields. Unfor- 

 tunately it is too often seen in the mar- 

 kets, for its tender flesh is too toothsome 

 a tidbit for people to leave alone. As 

 the old lady remarked when some one 

 was speaking of the song of our meadow- 

 larks, "yes, and thev are such good eat- 

 ing." 



In spring when fields are bare and 

 dead, and snow and ice still linger along 

 the fences comes the meadowlark. 

 Sweeter than the "Pipes of Pan" rises a 

 voice from the dead grass and a sudden 

 whirr of wings, as a dark gray bird with 

 white quill feathers rises upwards to the 

 sound of a prolonged melodious song. I 

 think there are few finer sounds than the 

 music from the voices of a dozen mead- 

 owlarks as they soar upwards. But I 

 believe we were to see in what way they 

 were beneficial from a financial stand- 

 point. The Department of Agriculture 



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