Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 211, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1919 — WHY DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS? [ARTICLE]

WHY DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS?

Agriculturists Make Tremendous Mistake When They Wage War on Certain Types of Birds. In the suburbs of one of our cities recently a man was arrested for shooting 83 robins and two cedar wax wings. When we consider that each year the people of the United States pay a toll of one billion dollars to Insects, the reason for protecting our native birds is apparent. Some birds feed almost entirely on the seeds of weeds, others on field mice and others on small rodents. Hawks and owls are considered outlaws, and the average citizen wants to shoot them if he can. It has been estimated that each hawk or owl Mils on an average a thousand mice a year. A recent examination of the stomach of a cedar wax wing (cherry bird! revealed 100 canker worms. In the stomach of a scarlet tanager were found 630 gypsy moth caterpillars. With the continued wanton destruction of native birds, successful agriculture would become impossible and the destruction of the greater part of food vegetation would follow.—Thrift Magazine.