BIRDS IN THE GARDEN. 



679 



oriole, robin, cat-bird and cedar bird take some of his 

 cherries and other fruits, but he does not see so soon the 

 damage done by noxious insects, nor the numbers which 



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1 « » II « 11 ii . II II II 



■1 





PMP;:ji/ji/''!:iii(lji'jg^^^ 



A Bird House. 



the birds consume. In the height of the season when 

 the eggs are hatched, the birds are working almost en- 

 tirely for the benefit of the horticulturist and farmer, as 

 the young are almost exclusively fed on insects. It has 

 been found that a young bird in the nest requires a daily 

 supply of animal food equivalent to considerably more 

 than its own weight. 



Instruct your children earnestly to love the birds. 

 Our schools should do more in this direction. Almost 

 every state has certain bird laws. Take care that these 

 laws are strictly obeyed. Do not allow cats to roam in 

 gardens and fields. A cat accustomed to catch birds 

 rarely catches mice in the seasons when birds are easily 

 obtained. Erect bird houses in orchard and ornamental 

 trees. Some of our most useful birds, such as blue- 

 birds, titmice, wrens, martins and great-crested fly- 

 catchers breed in holes of trees and stumps, and suitable 

 bird boxes are always welcomed by them. 



An orchard or garden is desolate and dead without 

 birds. They give the fields life and make them 

 doubly attractive. They are the true poets of the gar- 

 dens and woods, from early dawn until the evening 

 twilight fades. 



There are several birds which can not be welcomed 

 with equal delight. Have you ever noticed that saucy 

 foreigner, the European or English sparrow ? He is the 

 anarchist of the feathered tribe, who drives away our 

 beautiful and beneficial native birds. Where these 

 birds are getting common the blue-birds and many others 

 depart. The shrike or butcher-bird is a murderer, and 

 should not be allowed to enter our premises. 



Our most beneficial garden birds are the following ; 

 robin, catbird, thrasher, mocking-bird, blue-bird, tit- 

 mouse, wrens, swallows, Baltimore oriole, orchard oriole, 

 king-bird, phoebe-bird, chipping sparrow or hair-bird, 

 song sparrow, cedar-bird, summer yellow-bird and vireos. 

 During migration many other small birds, especially 

 warbles, thrushes, and finches visit our gardens and are 



beneficial, as well as entertaining in song and beautiful 

 in their flitting about. — Observer. 



DO ENGLISH SPARROWS DRIVE OFF OTHER BIRDS ? 



Does the English sparrow drive off other birds ? I an- 

 swer. No ! All birds have their dislikes, and often rob 

 and chase each other, but do not drive the weaker away. 

 In an old limb of an apple tree a blue-bird has nested 

 for six years. Frequent tights occur between them and 

 the sparrows. Still I see that they are nesting in the 

 same place this year. What has become of our birds is 

 not so difficult a problem as to convict the sparrows of 

 the deed. In the last twenty-five years there has been 

 a great demand for birds of plumage to adorn hats and 

 dresses, and tens of thousands have been slaughtered 

 for this purpose. Pot-hunters and so-called sportsmen 

 have indiscriminately destroyed the birds, simply to have 

 something to shoot at. Every boy is armored up with 

 shot-gun, target-gun, air-gun and devil-sling, and no re- 

 spect is paid to birds or law. Thus the birds are slain, 

 and not chased away by the sparrow. Were the laws 

 strictly enforced against the sportsman and the boy, all 

 our old birds would return, and would work quietly to- 

 gether for our good. — Indiana. 



SPARROWS AND SPARROW LAWS. 



There are few observers who will agree with our cor- 

 respondent from Indiana. It appearsto be an established 

 fact that the English or house sparrow drives off our 

 best native birds. This fact is set forth with some full- 

 ness by C. B. Cook, in Bulletin 62 of the Michigan Ex- 

 periment Station, just issued. Mr. Cook declares that 

 "Without question the English sparrow protects more 

 insects than he destroys, by driving away insectivorous 

 birds. That these foreigners drive away familiar native 

 species there can be no doubt. Particularly do the 

 wrens, martins, swallows and blue-birds suffer, as their 

 nesting places are eagerly sought for and secured by the 

 sparrows. Occasionally the native birds hold their own 

 for a time, but sooner or later they must succumb. 

 Often, when necessary, the English sparrows will club 



English Sparrow. 



together to drive away a pair of native birds. Even the 

 robins and the pigeons cannot withstand numbers, 

 and are obliged to vacate, leaving their eggs and young 



