12 BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



young that otherwise would be destroyed will reach maturity. Courses 

 in nature study have been found interesting and profitable wherever 

 undertaken in elementary schools, and will prove especially so in 

 Porto Eico. The detailed knowledge of the natives concerning their 

 island flora and fauna was noted by early historians, and has been 

 corroborated and enlarged upon by travelers in the island for many 

 years. Every bird, tree, and shrub was recognized and had its name, 

 sometimes that bestowed by the aborigines, sometimes a cognomen 

 given by the Spaniards from some resemblance to a form with which 

 they were familiar in their native land. Xow that a considerable 

 proportion of the population is concentrated in towns, much of this 

 stock of common knowledge is being lost, and many of the younger 

 generation are strangers to it. The country boys and girls traveling 

 to and from school through the coffee plantations or along the roads 

 and trails become versed in the lore of out-of-doors from their elders, 

 but in towns lack of this information among children is noticeable. 

 Names remain without proper association with the objects to which 

 they pertain, and a fund of common knowledge ages old in its incep- 

 tion and growth is in danger of being lost. It seems natural for a 

 boy to throw stones or break eggs in the nests which his sharp eyes 

 discover, but under proper guidance these misapplied energies may 

 easily be directed to the encouragement and preservation of his 

 feathered friends. 



That birds need shelter as well as protection will not be questioned, 

 and owners of plantations should look carefully to providing this 

 if it is not already present. A long level stretch of cane or tobacco, 

 with not a tree or other obstruction to break its continuity, while a 

 pleasing sight to the agriculturist, offers little encouragement to the 

 bird in search of shelter and food. A similar stretch of cultivated 

 land, with lines of symmetrical royal palms or coconuts along the 

 roadways and dense clumps of graceful bamboos adorning the bor- 

 ders of streams, while not losing an iota of its productiveness, will 

 gain in esthetic charm and beauty and provide an attractive feeding 

 ground for birds which will more than repay the owner in the great 

 numbers of injurious insects they consume. 



In cane fields during the preparation of the soil fence posts offer 

 convenient perches for such birds as the sparrow hawk and gray 

 kingbird, which require commanding outlooks from which to watcn 

 for their prey. Later these posts are overshadowed by the cane, but 

 if more trees were present inducement would be offered the birds 

 to frequent the fields throughout the season. The jobo (Spondias 

 lutea), with its open limbs and small shade, is a favorite perch and 

 nesting site of birds, and the spiny trunk is a protection against 

 terrestrial nest robbers. 



