Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 111, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1918 — As Destroyers of Insects and Plant Pest, Birds of Great Value to Garden Growers. [ARTICLE]

As Destroyers of Insects and Plant Pest, Birds of Great Value to Garden Growers.

It’s maddening to sow seeds in your garden, lot or farm land and in due time to discover that the “fowls of the air have devoured them all up.” But could we but remember that without the birds we could raise little or nothing of anything. we should not be so chagrined, declares a writer in the Buffalo News. Experts who have studied the question of birds in relation to crops and crop conservation agree that our feathered companions are friends Indeed. As destroyers of insects and plant pests, birds have great value to the farmer and gardener. Food Administrator Hoover has entered the lists on the side of the birds, and “hopes that the people of the United States realize how closely related to food saving is the protection and encouragement of Insectivorous and migratory birds.” We do not know just what effect this statement of Mr. Hoover’s will have upon the farmer or gardener. We have grown up to look upon some birds with a certain degree of suspicion. The crow, for instance; how many farmers feel friendly toward the crows? Very few; Jim Crow is one of the most unpopular of birds, yet he has a voracious appetite for grubs, and should not perhaps be begrudged the few sprouts of corn that he pulls yp. And certainly rhe robin should be encouraged, as he is no slacker in ridding the garden of insect pests. Altogether the balance Is In favor of the birds, and we hope that more specific advice on the matter will follow, and thns we may be educated to the value of birds as food conservation auxiliaries.