wrttuo far tt» I
Farmers   Misjudged   Friends
By  H.  S.  Chamberlain.
The chicken hawk, ordinarily despised
|,v the farmer because of his depredations
upon domestic fowls scarcely ever re-
, eives credit for the good service he actually renders. The common opinion
that this bird of prey subsists, for the
most part upon barnyard poultry, is :i
mistake. As a matter of fact he derives the ..-router share of his food from
the.capture of small mammals, like mice,
chipmunks and squirrels, and from preying npon smaller birds. Many of these
creatures are destructive to the farmer's
crops nnd any decrease in tlieir numbers
must  necessarily prove beneficial.
The sparrow hawk, quite a common
hird of prey, is a true friend of the farmer in thnt lie, like the owl, is an expert
ns*user. Often he may be be seen hovering
over a certain place in some field, then
Mnl.lonly swooping down ami flying away
with 11 struggling mouse in his talons. He
may occasionally kill some of our wild
feathered songsters, when mice are
scarce, but he is worthy of respect because his chief food is the field mouse.
Among the wild mammals common in
our country, a number have fallen into
disrepute with the farmer, just as many
ol the birds have done and for similar
reasons.
Field mice quite detrimental to the
fanner's welfare, strange as it may appear, are in an indirect way, helpful to
his  interests. The  nests,  of  these  lit
tle animals, prepared in* the summer as
their family home, become in the following springtime the habitations of families
of bumble-bees, and so continue throughout the summer season. It is now generally accepted that these humble, yet
combative fellows are necessary to the
well being of clover by their help in* the
pollination of its blossoms, thereby insuring seed production. As these bees fly
from one clover bloom to another they distribute the fertilizing pollen which clings
to their feet, bodies and probosces. So
without field mice and their nests, for the
majority of bumble bees' homes are made
from these, and without the bumble-bee
himself the farmer would be at a loss for
his general purpose clover crop and good
fertile clover seed. Here are two erstwhile enemies of the farmer turned
friends, when their mission is understood.
Of all four footed wild creatures found
upon the farm none perhaps is given a
wider berth nor so heartily discredited,
and fur well known reasons, than the
skunk. He has the reputation of a fondness for poultry in season* and out and he
deserves some discredit on tbis account.
Vet. notwithstanding, these facts he is a
valuable insect destroyer; for his food
consists principally of these pests, and
vast quantities of them are devoured
o\cry year by this animal. Nature evidently fitted him for the purpose of exterminating insects harmful to vegetation,
and not for robbing hen roosts. This
Ir.ttor habit sooms only a dangerous pastime with him.
Then the mink and the weasel are in* a
certain sense cunning enemies of the
farmer and do much wanton damage at
times to the birds of the Harm yard, is
well known*, but we can overlook all this
when we learn that they have instincts
and traits wbich class them as real helpers of the agriculturist.
These lithe creatures are persistent
hunters of small game, trailing their
■;ti*»rry with all the cunning and ingenuity
rained hunting dog, until they overtake and kill it. They are the bitterest
enemies of rats and mice, and soon rid
farm buildings and their locality of these
pestiferous rodents. Aside from danger
to the hen roosts from these animals, it
is of decided advantage to have a weasel
or mink around a grain stack, mow,
corn   crib   or  granary. Their  presence
is  made known  by  the scarcity  or total
absence of rats  and  mice.
I's.ially   farmers  try  every   means     in
papers, attending township institutes, preparing for the same, occupied my entire
time.
Retrenchment and economy is all right
but for the childrens' sake do not commence with the teacher. I am a tax
payor myself in a small way, but I do not
begrudge the small amount of tuition
tax    I   pay. Compare   salaries   of   the
teachers with those of any other profession, nnd you will tind thoy are the poorest paid of all.        Just   think of a physi-
Lelter From A Bird Lover.
Kdltors  Indiana  Farmer
"No uso trying to write this morning
until a cerlaiu pleasing duty is performed," I exclaimed as I threw down my pen,
and after making a raid on the broad box
went oui lo stop the clamor of 50 noisy
little throats, whoso **wiiors remembered,
and who wore trying to remind me that
they bail no breakfast this wintry morn-
tug,   although   1   had   forgotten   the  fiact.
I did not begin feeding my birds until
the  lirst   mow   fell,   tot   I   wauled  llioni to
consume   the   weed s Is   I, it   standing   in
certain neglected sU last year. Incredible   as   it   may™'   'in,   on   that    lirst
white   morning
,'E.
k   of   birds,    lilue-
Fnnu   Home of  F.  J.   Hayden,    near  Fort   Wayne,   Indiana.
their power to capture and kill any of
these furry helpers, without appreciating the benefits they really bring about.
The destruction of either bird or animal,
for reason of any little harm they may
have wrought, without some consideration
of their value as partners in the farmers
work, seems to be a mistake. The mission of the ceatures mentioned in this and
our previous writing is not one of destruction and injury to the farmer, but on the
whole, one of conservation and helpfulness.
TEACHERS'  SALARIES.
Editors Indiana  Farmer
In your valuable paper I saw an article by Mr. W. It. Abraham regarding the
salaries of teachers. He quoted from
the report of State Supterintendent Cotton, giving the average of $44.'?.50; this
for the term ot seven months, would
amount to 983.85 per month quite a
princely salary indeed. He says he
taught four years, and was satisfied with
his salary, but does not state why he
left the work. I suppose for something
that would pay him better.
I am surprised that any one whjo had
ever taught would speak of six hours as
a day's work. True that is the time
employed in the school room, but the
work does not  stop there.
I can speak from experience, for I
too taught in the schools of Indiana, and
I can truly say that tho day's work did
not end with six hours. Preparing the
lessons for next day, selecting questions
for   examination,   correcting   examination
cian of lawyer laboring for $(53 a month.
I contend that it costs as much to prepare
for teaching as for any other calling.
All honor to the army of 16,587 teachers of Indiana, their compensation can
not be computed in dollars and cents, but
in the lives and hearts of a grateful people. J.  C.   Lilly.
Pierceton.
According to the recent figures, German
imports of wheat in the year 1901 amounted to $04,7-11,000. of which the United
States supplied $41,289,750, or nearly two-
thirds. Argentina supplied only $7,-
888,600 of wheat to Germany in 1901,
but furnished $19,606,700 in 1904. Russia furnished $161,221,750 in* 1901 and
$30,341,250 in 1901. Germany bought
$20,508,000 worth of corn from the
fruited States in 1901..but took only $4,-
s.". 1.500 in 1904. Argentina's shipments
of corn to Germany more than doubled iu
the throe years, growing from $3.sr,K,500
to $7,088,750. When the new Herman
tariff goes into effect, the United States
will be Rhut out ,entirely, and the great
Oerman market will be supplied by our
competitors, Argentina, Russia and ther
countries.
The American farmer is among the
highest type of citizens that our country
affords. As I general thing he owns his
.\vn farm, is independent so far as food
production is concerned and living close
to nature begets in him a large degree
of honesty, seldom found among men in
other callings.
jays, sparrows iin.lg.' neon, gathered on
the trees ami Iowa wing shrubs, just
outside the identic!)**" indow whore they
were accustomed t sceive their morning meal last winti nd for many previous winters. ~
No need to toll.,,, that my birds do
not   know and  remember their friends and
tin* honey places where they are sure of
Rood   and   pr..lection.
For lour Consecutive winters throe blue-
jays have haunted ihis s.*if same window
on wintry mornings, and liave feasted on
the food placed within their roach. Three
Une ju>s. no more, no loss, for four consecutive winters. Can any one convince
me that they aro not the identical birds,
returning each winter to the spot where
thoy know a warm wek e and something more substantial awaits them?
What saucy, n.'isy. naughty, lovable
fellows tbey are my three blue jays, with
a hint of the ohm.Is and llie sky iu their
beautiful plumage 1 Thoy imagine themselves great thieves, too, and it is truly
.livening to watch thom make-believe
Ihey aro Stealing the food thoy so (eagerly
and impatiently watched me scatter for
thoir  use. How   thoy   Butter  and   scold
until I am safe behind the window-curtains, from which vantage ground I watch
them as they scont and peer, an.l peck
about, bopping nearer aud nearer the
COTeted food, one eye on the window as
though their direful enemy were hidden
there, the other ou the biggest crust,—
they invariably choose the largest piece
for themselves, their heads turned this
way and that, until thoy convince themselves that thoir imaginary' enemy is out
of reach, and then, with a flash, they
make a final dash and are away with their
treasure, which they hide in some secret
spot for future use, returning is an iu-
. redibly short period of time to re|nat
the same mauoouvor again and again, as
long as I crust remains. Ry their actions
1 am reminded of Lowell's beautiful lines
about the oriole:
"Hush! 'tis he!
My oriole!  my  gleam of summer  fire;
It came at  last, and ovor on the watch.
Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly
wound
About the bough to help his himself raping.
Twitches and  scouts,  l.y  turns,  blessing
his luck.
Yet  fearing  me  who  placed   it  in   his
way.
Nor more than wiser wo, in our affairs,
Divine  the  providence  tlmt  hides     nnd
heipf.
In the meantime the sparrows and Junes have attained strictly to the busi-
tm ss of taking their breakfast from the
ground. Sometimes n*iy robbers carry
away so much of the food that a second
supply  is necessary  for tho smaller birds.
On   this     particular     morning,   "Texas
HI," my Scotch Collie, seeing me scatter
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