protection came market hunters were known to carry out the most cruel
methods in order to bag the quail in large numbers. In the drier parts
of our country, the springs where quail came to drink were covered until
the thirsty birds gathered in large numbers. In this way the hunters
were able to obtain all they wanted.
[Illustration: _Finley & Bohlman_
Gulls and terns on their resting ground.]
Let us henceforth show by our kindness and good will to the living
things around us that we are not merciless savages, thinking only of
something to eat, but rather that we appreciate their presence and the
great good that they do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
HOW TO BRING THE WILD CREATURES BACK AGAIN
In the preceding chapters we have learned something of the destructive
warfare that men have carried on against wild creatures. We have learned
that some species are already extinct and that many others have been so
reduced in numbers that they are threatened with the same fate.
Nothing that we can do will bring back those that are gone, but we can
save those that are left. Throughout our own country as well as many
foreign countries, people are waking up to the necessity of protecting
wild life. Thousands of men and women are spending their time and money
trying to save birds and other animals. Among the things they are doing
is the establishing of refuges and game preserves, working for better
laws, and teaching boys and girls to be careful of life and not wantonly
to destroy it.
The most important thing that we can do to bring wild creatures back
again is to let them alone. Man is their worst enemy, and, if he can be
kept from hunting, nearly all will be able to take care of themselves
and increase in numbers. We can help Nature by supplying them with food
when it is scarce and by protecting them from a few predatory animals
and birds. The worst of these are the cougar or mountain lion, wild cat,
lynx, wolves, and coyotes; the blue jay, butcher bird, and several of
the hawks and owls. The cougar is the worst of all, for it has been
estimated that one of these animals kills on the average fifty deer a
year. Many of the states offer bounties for the killing of the mountain
lion and coyote.
Ordinarily birds are able to secure their own food; but sometimes
during long, snowy winters those that do not fly away South need food.
There are also many trees which bear fruit that is not much used by us
but which is very attractive to the birds. The planting of such trees
aids in bringing birds to our homes and encourages their increase.
[Illustration: We can help to conserve bird life by providing safe
nesting places for our feathered friends.]
The settlement of the lands suitable to farming has deprived some of the
hoofed animals, such as the elk, of their natural feeding grounds. The
elk that are found in the summer in the meadows of the Yellowstone Park
migrate in winter to the lower valleys outside of the park. These
valleys are mostly fenced up, and to keep the elk from getting into
trouble with the farmers it is often necessary for the government to buy
hay and feed them.
In order to make sure that the wild animals shall be free to live and
increase safe from the hunter, we have established great game preserves
in different parts of the country. These are usually regions that are
wild and unsettled and not useful for other purposes. All the great
National Parks which we are trying to keep in their natural condition
with their animals, birds, and plants are now game preserves. Among them
are the Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rainier, and Crater Lake parks. Visitors
to these preserves are not allowed to carry any guns, and wardens
constantly patrol them.
The life of the Yellowstone Park is wonderfully interesting. Here we
find droves of many of the animals that were in danger of becoming
extinct. Among them are the buffalo, elk, and antelope. Here the grizzly
and all the lesser bears are safe from the hunter. They have almost lost
their fear of man and come about the camps and hotels for food, as the
domestic animals do. In the park are some colonies of beaver, too, which
will never again be disturbed by the fur hunter. On the higher peaks are
a few Rocky Mountain sheep.
Another way in which we are protecting the wild animals is by making it
legal to hunt them during only a short time each year. This is called
the "open season." In the case of some of the animals that are nearly
extinct we have made a "closed season" extending through a number of
years. With this protection we are hoping that they will be saved and
sometime become numerous again. All our states have made game laws which
give more or less protection to the deer, elk, moose, antelope,
squirrel, and other animals. In the case of some of these animals the
females are absolutely protected, and the number of the males--as of the
deer, for example--that may be killed in a season is often as small as
two, and in two states it is only one. A heavy fine is imposed upon any
one killing the protected animals or having their meat in his
possession.
We are trying to protect the birds in much the same manner as the wild
animals. But because of their migrations this is much more difficult.
Many kinds of birds travel with the changing seasons from north to
south across different countries. If the people of one country protect
them and those of another do not, they may easily become exterminated.
Some species have become extinct in the last fifty years, and others
have been reduced to a few pairs in regions where they were once seen in
thousands.
There are three things that have brought about this slaughter of the
birds. The first is hunting them for food. This was not so serious until
the market hunters began their work. Then the small game birds that were
salable quickly began to disappear. In most of our states the sale of
game birds in the market is now prohibited.
Another cause for the decrease in the birds is the wanton shooting of
some just for sport, and the hunting of others that are mistakenly
supposed to be harmful. We cannot wholly stop this until we teach people
to respect the birds, to love them for their music, and to appreciate
the great good which many of them do by their destruction of insects and
small animal pests.
Many of the birds which we have too often tried to kill or drive away
are among the best friends we have. When we have learned all about their
habits and their food, we shall find that only a very few are really
harmful, and that the others abundantly repay the toll that they take of
our produce. The farmer and the fruit grower should be particularly
interested in protecting and encouraging the birds. If the birds pull up
the sprouting seeds in your garden, do not kill them but protect the
plants with wire screens. It is likely that these very birds feed
largely upon the insects that are so harmful to your crops.
If the children in our schools could spend a little of their time in
the interesting study of bird life, we are sure that when they grow up
the wanton destruction of birds will almost cease. The Boy Scouts and
the Camp Fire Girls are learning to love and respect life in the wilds
and would not for anything injure its inhabitants. The children of the
Agassiz Associations and the Junior Audubon Societies can also be proud
of the work they are doing. They are not only saving the birds about our
homes but are attracting others by putting out food, planting trees that
bear attractive fruit, and making nesting places for the birds.
[Illustration: _American Forestry Association_
The boys who are going to see that our wild life is protected.]
The third important thing which has been bringing about the decrease of
the birds is hunting them for their plumes. For fifty years the demand
for plumes for millinery purposes has been growing. The trade has spread
until it now reaches the most remote islands of the sea. No bird, be
its home in the most remote and inaccessible jungles, has until recently
been safe from the plume hunter.
Now some of the foremost nations have passed laws for the protection of
many of the water and jungle birds, which, unfortunately for themselves,
are so beautiful that milady longs to have them for her bonnet. Nearly
all the states of our own land offer more or less protection to birds of
beautiful plumage. There is, however, much yet to be done, for in parts
of our country birds that should be protected are still at the mercy of
the plume hunter.
The Migratory Bird Law recently passed by Congress is one of the most
important things which we have ever done for the birds. This law
protects the multitude of water birds as well as land birds, that
migrate with the changing seasons. It is especially important that all
such birds be protected in the regions where they nest.
In the case of the water birds the nests are often grouped in colonies
in certain places and not scattered singly here and there as with most
land birds. Thus when a colony, say of the heron, tern, or flamingo, is
found it is very easy for the hunter to break it up and destroy all the
birds. Among the water birds the gulls, terns, grebes, herons, egrets,
osprey, flamingos, and pelicans have been so hunted for their plumes
that some of them are almost extinct. Several of these species love the
rocky coasts, where their nests are found upon the almost bare ledges of
the cliffs. Others establish colonies about the marshy lagoons of the
Gulf and South Atlantic coasts and about the marshy shore of the lakes
of the interior.
During recent years many bird refuges have been established in various
parts of the country. Such refuges are now scattered all along the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as at various other localities
throughout the country which are favorite nesting places for the birds.
Some of these refuges have been established and are guarded by the
government; others have been donated by wealthy persons who love birds
and want to see them preserved.
[Illustration: _E. R. Sanborn, N. Y. Zooelogical Society_
A flock of wild duck.]
The most beautiful of the water birds have been so relentlessly hunted
by the plume gatherers that at the time of the establishment of the
refuges some of them were almost extinct and it was feared the birds
would not be able to survive. But in most cases the effect of protection
was magical. The bird refuges in the Southern coast islands and marshes
which were almost deserted are now alive again with birds. Here we can
get some idea of the wonderful richness of life before the bird hunters
began their work. Even now, in spite of the watchful patrols, the
hunters sometimes succeed in getting at the colonies. In order to
insure full protection the refuges must be extended and more patrols
employed, for such is the value of the plumes that desperate men will
undergo great risks for the sake of obtaining them.
In order fully to stop this work, all those countries where plumes are
in demand must forbid their sale. Only when there is no more demand can
we get rid of the hunters.
In our efforts to protect bird life, we must not forget to take into
account the instincts of our friend Pussy. It hardly seems as though the
quiet house cat could do much harm, but if you will watch one out of
doors when the birds are around you will be convinced that Pussy is one
of the worst enemies that small birds have. Cats destroy many thousands
of birds throughout the country. It is believed that they each average
at least fifty birds killed every year. If you will multiply this number
by the number of cats in your neighborhood, you will get some idea of
the great losses among the birds due to the cats. We must choose between
Pussy and the birds.
Arbor Day and Bird Day in our schools help call to mind the claims
Nature has upon us. We might celebrate them by planting trees which
furnish food that the birds like, for the trees and birds go together.
How pleasant it will be when that happy time comes in which the wild
creatures will cease to regard man as their worst enemy! How pleasant it
will be to go out through the fields and woods and along the shores and
find that they look upon us as friends!
THE PRECEPTOR'S PLEA FOR THE BIRDS
Plato, anticipating the Reviewers,
From his Republic banished without pity
The Poets; in this little town of yours,
You put to death, by means of a Committee,
The ballad-singers and the Troubadours,
The street musicians of the heavenly city,
The birds, who make sweet music for us all
In our dark hours, as David did for Saul.
The thrush that carols at the dawn of day
From the green steeples of the piny wood;
The oriole in the elm; the noisy jay,
Jargoning like a foreigner at his food;
The bluebird balanced on some topmost spray,
Flooding with melody the neighborhood;
Linnet and meadow lark, and all the throng
That dwell in nests, and have the gift of song.
You slay them all! and wherefore? for the gain
Of a scant handful more or less of wheat,
Or rye, or barley, or some other grain,
Scratched up at random by industrious feet,
Searching for worm or weevil after rain!
Or a few cherries, that are not so sweet
As are the songs these uninvited guests
Sing at their feast with comfortable breasts.
Do you ne'er think what wondrous beings these?
Do you ne'er think who made them, and who taught
The dialect they speak, where melodies
Alone are the interpreters of thought?
Whose household words are songs in many keys,
Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught!
Whose habitations in the treetops even
Are halfway houses on the road to heaven!
Think, every morning when the sun peeps through
The dim, leaf-latticed windows of the grove,
How jubilant the happy birds renew
Their old, melodious madrigals of love!
And when you think of this, remember too
'Tis always morning somewhere, and above
The awakening continents, from shore to shore,
Somewhere the birds are singing evermore.
Think of your woods and orchards without birds!
Of empty nests that cling to boughs and beams
As in an idiot's brain remembered words
Hang empty 'mid the cobwebs of his dreams!
Will bleat of flocks or bellowing of herds
Make up for the lost music, when your teams
Drag home the stingy harvest, and no more
The feathered gleaners follow to your door?
What! would you rather see the incessant stir
Of insects in the windrows of the hay,
And hear the locust and the grasshopper
Their melancholy hurdy-gurdies play?
Is this more pleasant to you than the whir
Of meadow lark, and its sweet roundelay,
Or twitter of little fieldfares, as you take
Your nooning in the shade of bush and brake?
You call them thieves and pillagers; but know
They are the winged wardens of your farms,
Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe,
And from your harvests keep a hundred harms;
Even the blackest of them all, the crow,
Renders good service as your man-at-arms,
Crushing the beetle in his coat of mail,
And crying havoc on the slug and snail.
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW, _The Birds of Killingworth_
INDEX
Abandoned farms, 52.
Acacia tree, gum arabic made from, 95.
Adobe soil, 58.
AEolian soil, 66.
Africa, need for protection of animals in, 180.
Agassiz Associations, work of, 207.
Air, importance of pure, 10.
Alaska, protection of fish in waters about, 170.
Alkali soil, 59.
Alluvial soil, 64.
Animals, the first domestic, 5;
careless destruction of, 12, 49;
court of birds and, 188-194;
predatory, 203.
Antelope, disappearance of, 179;
in Yellowstone Park, 205.
Appalachian Forest, the, 133-134.
Arabs, life of the, 25.
Arbor Day, celebration of, 210;
Argentine ant, a plague, 153.
Australia, rabbits as pests in, 152.
Aztec Indians, 20.
Bacteria in soil, 59-60.
Balance of nature, 151;
effects of upsetting, 151-154.
Barren Lands, 101.
Bears, in early times, 21;
in Yellowstone Park, 205.
Beaver, trapping of, 179;
protection of, 205.
Big trees of California, 49, 99.
Bird Day, observance of, 210.
Bird of paradise, nearly extinct, 187.
Bird refuges, 187, 208-209;
patrols for, 209-210.
Birds, 21;
extinct species of, 22;
destruction of, 49, 176-182;
hunting of, for millinery purposes, 183-187;
court of the, 188-194;
our good friends and pleasant companions, 195-202;
predatory, 203;
national protection of, 205-206.
Black bears, case of the, 192-193.
Blue jays, 189.
Bobolink, friends and enemies of, 189.
Bone, implements of, 3.
Boy Scouts, love of, for wild creatures, 207.
Broad-leaved and narrow-leaved trees, 98.
Bronze, making of, 5.
Browntail moth, 152.
Buffaloes, 21;
slaughter of, 177;
in Yellowstone Park, 205.
California, forests of, 49, 98;
"big trees" of, 99.
California condor, disappearance of, 180.
Camp Fire Girls, love of, for wild creatures, 207.
Camping parties, forest fires started by, 122.
Canada, beaver in, 179.
Canada balsam, 93.
Canals, use of water for, 87.
Cats, killing of birds by, 210.
Chesapeake Bay, fisheries of, 167.
Chestnut-tree blight, 107.
China, results of destruction of vegetation in, 79-80.
Christmas decorations, 149.
Cigarettes, forest fires caused by, 122.
Citrus canker, 109.
"City on the Plain, The," 14.
Clay, a part of soil, 58.
Clay loam, 58.
Closed season for hunting, 205.
Coal, care necessary in use of, 12;
unequal distribution of, 27;
deposits and mining of, 155-156;
waste connected with, 156-157.
Cod fisheries, 170.
Codling moth, 153.
Colorado River, mud carried by, 73;
use of water of, for irrigation, 87.
Cone-bearing trees, 98;
enemies of, 110.
Conservation, meaning of, 8.
Conservation commissions, 138.
Coon, arguments for and against the, 193.
Cotton-boll weevil, 153.
Cougar, a predatory beast, 203.
Coyotes, killing of, 152;
defense of, 193.
Crater Lake National Park, 140.
Deer, killed by cougars, 203.
Deltas of rivers, 43, 55;
alluvial soil in, 64.
Desert, results of lack of vegetation in the, 70-71.
Digger pines, 99.
Ducks, complaints of oyster farmers against, disproved, 194.
Egrets, killing of, 185, 187.
Electricity, harnessing of, 8;
use of water for making, 88.
Elephant, urgent need of protection of, 181.
Elk, 21;
hunting of, 179;
feeding grounds of, 204.
English sparrow, 153;
should be driven out, 188.
Erie Canal, 87.
Eskimos, the, 25;
wood lacking among, 89.
Farmers, great value of work of, 51.
Feldspar, rock grains called, 63.
Fertilizers, 11;
use of herring for, 167.
Field mice, plagues of, 151.
Fire, ignorance of early people concerning, 3;
discovery of, 3.
_See_ Forest fires.
Fish, caring for, 14;
protection needed by, 162-165.
Fish preserves, 169-170.
Fish traps, 22, 165-169.
Flamingos, killing of, 187.
Flowers, destruction of, 144-149.
Fool's gold, 63.
Forest fires, 110-111, 119-124;
steps taken by national government to prevent, 131-138.
Forest rangers, work of, 134-137.
Forests, effect of cutting down of, on birds, 22;
unequal distribution of, 26-27;
destruction of, 34;
effect of destruction of, on soil, 37-38, 40-42;
possible restoration of, 47-49;
importance of, to man, 89-95;
location of, 96-103;
special sources of damage to, 104-111;
various methods by which wasted, 112-118;
government protection of, 131-138;
National Parks and Forests as playgrounds, 139-143.
France, cutting of forests and careless pasturing in, 79.
Fruit trees, enemies of, 107, 109.
Fuel, use of wood for, 90;
use of peat for, 155.
Fur seals, destruction of, 165.
Game preserves, 204-205.
Gas, waste connected with, 157-161.
Glacial soil, 65.
Goats, forests injured by, 111.
Grand Canon National Park, 140.
Grasshoppers, plagues of, 109, 151.
Great plains, 96.
Grizzly bears, destruction of, 179, 192;
in Yellowstone Park, 205.
Gusher in California oil field, 158, 159.
Gypsy moth, 106-107, 151.
Hardwood trees, 98.
Hawks, arguments for and against, 189-190.
"Heart of the Tree, The," 139.
Hens, early ancestors of, 5.
Herons, hunting of, for their plumage, 185.
Herring, waste in capture of, 166-167.
Hessian fly, 153.
Houses, the first, 3.
Huckleberry shrub, cutting of, 147, 149.
Humming birds, use of skins of, for capes, 186.
Humus, in soil, 57;
destruction of, by forest fires, 123, 125.
Indians, life of, 19-23;
uses found by, for wood, 90;
fishing methods of, 163.
Insect enemies of trees, 106, 109, 110, 152-154;
warfare waged against, by forest rangers, 136-137;
eaten by birds, 197-202.
"In the Heart of the Woods," 24.
Iron, found in quartz sand, 58.
Irrigation, storage of water for, 84, 85, 87.
Italy, results of destruction of forests in, 77, 79;
wild chestnuts valued in, 90;
scarcity of birds in, 196.
Jays, arguments for and against, 189.
Jungle fowls, wild, 5.
Junior Audubon Societies, work of, 207.
Klamath Lake, bird refuge about, 187.
Korea, results of destruction of vegetation in, 79-80;
dikes built along rivers in, 80.
Lightning, an enemy of the forest, 110-111;
fires started by, 121.
Limestone soils, 59.
Loam, clay and sandy, 58.
Lobsters, protection of, 167.
Los Angeles, water supply of, 29-30.
Lumber, an important use of trees, 90.
Lumbering, waste of trees in, 114-118.
Malheur Lake, bird refuge about, 187.
Maple sugar, 93.
Martins, insects eaten by, 199.
Meadow larks, 191-192.
Medicinal products from trees, 93, 95.
Metals, discovery of, 4-5.
Mica, in quartz sand, 58.
Migrations of birds, 205-206.
Migratory Bird Law, 200, 208.
Mills, the first, 7.
Mineral resources, destruction and new supply of, 49-50.
Mink, points against and in favor of, 193.
Mississippi Valley, rich prairies of, 53-54.
Mistletoe, an enemy of trees, 107.
Mocking bird, song of, 195.
Mongoose, as a pest, 153, 154.
Montenegro, results of destruction of soil in, 79.
National Forests, 133-139.
National Parks, 19, 139-143;
are game preserves, 204-205.
Nets, catching of fish in, 167, 169.
New England, soil of, 51-53;
gypsy and browntail moths in, 152;
beaver in, 179.
Newfoundland banks, fisheries of, 170.
Nitrogen, in soil, 57;
stored in soil by plants, 77.
Norway rat, 153.
Oil, waste connected with, 157-161.
Open season for hunting, 205.
Orange orchards, citrus canker in, 109.
Oregon, protection of beaver in, 179;
bird refuges in, 187.
Owens River aqueduct, 29.
Owls, good and bad points of, 190-191.
Oysters, raised on oyster farms, 167.
Palestine, destruction of vegetation in, 79.
Panama Canal, 87.
Passenger pigeon, extermination of, 22, 180.
"Passing of the Forest, The," 130.
Pear blight, 109.
Peat, crumbling vegetation called, 57;
use of, for fuel, 155.
Peat soils, 58, 59, 66.
Phosphorus in soil, 59.
Pine beetles, 110.
Pinon pines, 99.
Plant food, 45, 60.
Plants, enemies of, 104-111.
Plumage, hunting of birds for, 183-187, 207-208.
Polar bear, protection needed by, 181.
Potash in soil, 59.
Powder, discovery of, 8.
Prairie chicken, disappearance of, 180.
"Preceptor's Plea for the Birds, The," 211-212.
Pueblo Indians, 19-20.
Quail, need for protection of, to preserve from extinction, 180;
cheery call of, 195;
value and attractiveness of, 201;
insects eaten by, 202.
Quartz, in sand grains, 58.
Quinine, made from cinchona tree, 95.
Rabbits, as pests, 152.
Rainier National Park, 140.
Rats, plagues of, 151.
Redwood trees, 99.
Refuges for birds, 22.
Residual soil, 64.
Rocks, soil made from, 58, 61-66.
Rocky Mountain sheep, in Yellowstone Park, 205.
Rubber trees, 93.