10 A MANUAL OF WEEDS 
a few of the many that are provided with this means of helping 
themselves to “fresh fields and pastures new.” 
Birds may undoubtedly be blamed for the appearance of some 
weeds in new locations, particularly when they are found springing 
up along telegraph lines or fences. But birds aid the farmer far 
more as weed destroyers than they do him injury as weed dis- 
seminators. Neglected roadsides and lanes; old pastures where the 
grazing animals have persistently passed by the plants that they 
did not like; stubbles where weeds have been permitted to spring 
up and mature seed after harvest; borders of fields and meadows 
and other waste places of the land, —all are most industriously 
gleaned throughout the summer, autumn, and winter months by 
seed-eating birds. Birds have keen appetites and swift digestion. 
It is safe to say that each Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, or Snow Bunt- 
ing needs at least a quarter-ounce of food daily to sustain life; and 
if the number of these feathered benefactors average no more than 
a dozen to the square mile, in the aggregate the amount of noxious 
stuff disposed of would reach many tons. The few seeds that are 
dropped in the culling of these bird meals or that pass uninjured 
through the digestive tract are of small account when compared to 
so great a service. 
The spreading of stable manure before decomposition is a very 
common source of weed infestation; and the statement is here 
repeated that it is better to lose a large part of its fertilizing quality 
by composting all such material, than to ensure future loss and need- 
less labor by such soil contamination. 
One place where weeds are too frequently neglected is on land 
belonging to the community at large. Along roads, canals, and 
other public places they are allowed to bloom and mature their 
seeds, becoming a menace to all near-by property, because “ what is 
everybody’s business is nobody’s business.” The public sees the 
wisdom and economy of supporting Game Commissioners in every 
county; and no less wise an outlay would be the appointment of 
County Weed Commissioners, to whom should be entrusted the 
supervision, not only of the public domain, but also of individual 
holdings which, through neglect, might become a menace to the 
community. The most ignorant and careless cultivator of the land 
is often the most easy to offend, and complaint and correction, a3 
