File:How to attract the birds - and other talks about bird neighbors (1903) (14749574034).jpg

Identifier: howtoattractbird00bla (find matches)
Title: How to attract the birds : and other talks about bird neighbors
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Blanchan, Neltje, 1865-1918
Subjects: Birds Bird attracting
Publisher: New York : Doubleday Page
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
ic research now included under the Division of Biological Survey. Until that year all the scien-tific work that was done in this line could havebeen recorded in a very small volume indeed. A GENERAL WHITEWASHING As might have been expected, when the whitesearch-light of science beats upon the birds, none,not even the crow, appears as black as he has beenpainted. Only a few culprits among the hawks andowls, and only one little sinner not a bird of prey,stand convicted and condemned to die. When itcame to a verdict on the English sparrow, after themost thorough and impartial trial any bird ever re-ceived, every thumb, alas! was turned down. Buthaving proven itself fittest to survive in the strugglefor existence after ages of competition with the birdsof the Old World, being obedient to natures greatlaw, it will defy mans legislation to exterminate it.Toilers in our over-populated cities, children of theslums, see at least one bird that is not afraid to liveamong them the year around. 170
Text Appearing After Image:
A much maligned ally ot the ramer—the Red-shouldrred Jlav What Birds Do for Us One of the first good effects of the Governmentsscientific investigation of birds, and the consequentwhitewashing of bird characters that ensued, was thewithdrawal of bounties by many states. Pennsylva-nia, for instance, woke up to realize that her noto-rious scalp act had lost her farmers many millions of dollars through the ravages of field mice, becausethe wholesale slaughter of all hawks and owls, re-gardless of their food and habits, had been systemati-cally encouraged. A little knowledge on the part oflegislators, backed by an immense amount of popu-lar ignorance and prejudice against all of the so-called birds of prey, proved to be a very dangerousthing. Even better than the withdrawal of bountiesis the action taken by many states to protect thebirds. Instead of laying stress upon only the appar-ent evil in nature, as undeveloped pagans did, weare at last putting the emphasis where it rightly be-lon

Note About Images