RECOMMENDATIONS. 7 



provisions of the present Texas game law, a few do not receive pro- 

 tection that deserve it. Xo argument is needed in support of the 

 view that every bird that does effective service in destroying boll 

 weevils should he protected by State laws, at least for the present. 

 In the unlikely event that any protected species shall so increase in 

 numbers as to threaten agricultural interests, either in the cotton-pro- 

 ducing area or elsewhere, protection can readily be withdrawn. Pro- 

 tective laws, necessary and beneficial as they are, however, are not 

 so effective in the cause of bird protection as enlightened public 

 sentiment. It is hoped, therefore, that a knowledge of the part birds 

 play in the boll weevil war may be widely disseminated over the 

 cotton-producing area, and that school children may be instructed 

 not only as to the general value of birds, but of the special impor- 

 tance to the South of the kinds which feed upon weevils. They 

 should learn to know them by sight and be taught as part of the 

 duties of good citizens to refrain from robbing their nests, from 

 trapping them to sell abroad as cage birds, and from shooting them 

 for food or sport. 



Of the birds at present known to eat the boll weevil, the following- 

 species are afforded no protection in Texas : Upland plover, killdeer, 

 cowbird, red-winged blackbird, Brewer blackbird, bronzed grackle or 

 crow blackbird, and great-tailed grackle or jackdaw. 



Upland plover. — Of the birds mentioned above the upland plover 

 is in most urgent need of protection, for in recent years, through 

 constant hunting both in spring and in fall, it has diminished 

 markedly in numbers, and unless prompt measures are taken to save 

 it this valuable bird is in danger of final extinction. The Louisiana 

 game law provides a close season for the upland plover (" papa- 

 botte ") from May 15 to August 1. but as at that season this plover 

 is not found within the State, the bird is practically unprotected 

 there. Upland plovers are almost wholly insectivorous, and in ad- 

 dition to eating the boll weeA T il in spring, when its destruction is 

 of the highest importance, they render valuable service in destroy- 

 ing numbers of other injurious weevils and other insects. This 

 plover is highly esteemed for the table and as a game bird, but its 

 value for these purposes is infinitesimal compared to the value it 

 possesses to the agricultural interests of the country. Because of its 

 importance as an insectivorous bird the upland plover should be 

 protected at all seasons, and it is considered important that an effort 

 be made by the cotton growers of Texas and Louisiana to have this 

 bird placed in the list of protected species in their respective States. 



Killdeer plover. — The killdeer apparently is not decreasing in num- 

 bers, since it is of no value for food, and therefore is seldom shot by 

 hunters. But in view of its taste for boll weevils and other destructive 



