12 THE AUDUBON BU LE belies 
One other advantage of the multiflora rose appeals to farmers. This 
is its contrast to the osage orange. Many years ago every midwest farm 
had its osage orange hedge. It was a wonderful hedge for wildlife, with 
its tall, thick, thorny growth and spreading branches. But farmers came 
to consider it an enemy. 
The spreading branches shaded too many acres of cropland. The wide- 
spreading root systems of the osage orange stole too much moisture and 
valuable nutrients from the soil, reducing yields. Furthermore, these hedges 
required periodic back-breaking trimming. 
Out they came! Within the last 25 years most of the osage orange 
hedges in the midwest have been ripped out. Now you can travel many 
miles through Illinois without seeing one. But on a windy day you can see 
thin clouds of dust sweeping across fertile farms — precious topsoil that 
took many thousands of years to accumulate being blown away within a 
few short years. 
Or after a heavy rain you can walk along the roadside and see in the 
ditches loam that should have remained in the fields to produce crops. And 
where are the farmers’ friends, the insect-eating songbirds that used to 
nest in the hedgerows? 
Soil conservationists believe one important answer to some of these 
problems can be found in multiflora rose. Much progress has been made. 
But this crusade won’t be won overnight. Many remain unconvinced. 
Perhaps typical of these is the reply of one central Illinois farmer. 
Having torn out his osage orange and ringed several beautiful trees that 
used to shade his horses on the edge of his fields, he was asked to plant 
the rose. “Brush!” he snorted. 
Brush, indeed. Brush that will keep his soil from washing and blowing 
away. Brush that will bring a song and a flash of feathered color back to 
his fields — and perhaps help cut down his bill for chemicals to fight crop- 
destroying insects. Brush that will beautify his landscape and make his 
farm a better place to work and live. 
640 Grace St., Chicago 
ft ff ft 
An Apology 
Our president, Dr. R. M. Strong, wrote a series of notes on conserva- 
tion problems intended for publication in this issue. The copy was un- 
fortunately lost and could not be found when due at the printing office. 
We hope to have it in the next issue. 
re ff ft 
Any Termites Here? 
A brown creeper, that shy little bird of the woods, was seen by Miss 
Jane Bayless one early October morning industriously working over the 
crevices of a brick wall along busy W. 22nd street in Chicago. 
