THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 15 



interest, and could be used in courses of instruction in 

 even the lower schools. Such facts would thus reach a 

 larger number of persons than is now possible, and would 

 be made more generally available to those interested in 

 them. 



If illustrations of the practical value of a knowl- 

 edge of zoology are necessary they can easily be given. 

 It has been estimated recently that the forests and 

 streams of Maine are worth more than its agricultural re- 

 sources. If this is so, is it not equally as important to 

 teach the best means of preserving the timber, the game 

 and the fish, as it is to teach students how to develop the 

 agricultural wealth of the State ? In 1885 Pennsylvania 

 passed its famous "scalp act," and in less than two years 

 expended between 175,000 and $100,000 in an attempt to 

 rid the State of animals and birds supposed to be injuri- 

 ous. A large part of the money was spent for killing 

 hawks and owls, most of which belonged to species which 

 were afterwards shown to be actually beneficial. Not 

 only was money thrown away in a useless war against 

 noxious animals, but the State actually paid for the de- 

 struction of birds of inestimable value to its farmers. 

 During the last five or six years two States have been en- 

 gaged in an unsuccessful attempt to exterminate English 

 sparrows by paying bounties for their heads. Michigan 

 and Ilhnois have each spent more than 160,000, but. al- 

 though millions of sparrows have been killed, the decrease 

 in numbers is hardly perceptible. A more general knowl- 

 edge of the habits of the English sparrow at the time the 

 bird was first introduced into the' United States would not 

 only have saved this outlay of over 1100,000, but would 

 also have saved many other States from loss due to depre- 

 dations by sparrows. 



Is it not worth while to do something to protect the 

 birds and prevent their destruction before it is too late ? 

 A powerful influence for good can be exerted by the 

 schools if the teachers wiU only interest themselves in the 



