5 



very wise. If you read the "Story of Silver-spot," in Scribner's Maga- 

 zine for February, 1898, you will see what I mean by saying that crows 

 are wise. 



Then other of our familiar birds are helpful— the cat-bird, the barn- 

 swallow and even the jay-bird. The more you come to know of the 

 lives of these feathered tenants of the farm, the more will you come 

 to regard them as friends well deserving our most careful protection. 



I have not said anything about the birds of prey. Generally the 

 sight of an owl or hawk is. the signal to run for the gun in the hope 

 of killing it or at least driving it from the farm. Yet only a few of 

 the largest of our birds of prey are injurious. These larger forms do 

 destroy poultry and game birds and perhaps are rightfully killed. 

 But the smaller forms, such as the screech-owl, the barn-owl and the 

 sparrow-hawk, are among our very best friends. Their favorite foods 

 are mice and the larger insects, both of which are extremely destruc- 

 tive to grain and growing crops. Indeed some of our crops might be 

 shown to be dependent upon the presence of the smaller owls and 

 hawks. 



There are -many other birds you will meet during the year; probably 

 there are 200 different kinds in your county. How many of them 

 are really harmful? Suppose you watch closely for a year and make 

 a list of all the birds that harm man in any way. You will be sur- 

 prised to find how short the list will be. 



These birds have a right to live, and every farmer and farmer's boy 

 ought to protect them carefully, because but for their incessant labor, 

 many agricultural possibilities would disappear. 



It has been estimated that if all the birds were destroyed, that 

 within three years the insects would be so abundant, that there would 

 be one to every square inch of this great land of ours. Does not this 

 give enough reason for the protection of birds? 



