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VOL. LXIII INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 8, 1908. NO. 6 - '■ ■ Befriend the Birds. Editors Indiana Farmer: Sn much has been said and written by government experts, naturalists ami amateur observers, about the value of birds in their relation to agriculture, that any thing brought out now on this subject would seem useless of repetition. Yet the story of binls is one that will ever admit of rehearsal ami, in view of the fait of their useful mission, anyone will iloubtless be pardoned for discussing the subject again. As, spring time is not far distant, the birds will soon return to take up their commendable labor of protecting both fruit trees and grain fields from the pestiferous insects which destroy them. Recently President Dutcher of the Associated Audubon Societies, in commenting on the rapid disappearance of the native American birds, due to ruthless destruction and changed conditions, affecting tluir habits of life, said that tbis unwarranted decimation is costing our people eight hundred million dollars each vear, in crop losses by insects,—a sum equivalent to the total Xational Bank capitalization throughout our country. Tins enormous loss is borne directly by Die farmers and indircetly by the general imrjlte. It is a loss in crops, "which can in no wise be compensated for, and one which is directly the result of the stolid indifference of Americans, touching tin- protection of our useful native birds. If there ever was a time when public sentiment should be aroused, favorable to a general economic need it is now here, and that need is the adequate protection of our feathered friends and helpers. These bird friends are always welcome both for tbeir insect destroying traits and their cheerful songs, but we should give them more than an ordinary welcome upon their return. We should encourage and induce them to come and stay with us, all through the summer and work in our fields and orchards, as our most friendly and helpful allies. According to the methods of nest building and home site selection the common birds, on the farm, may be divided into three classes: 1. Those that select protected places, afforded either by nature or man, such ns a hollow in a tree, a bird house or something similar; -. Those that prefer the forks and .i'sitches of trees, in which to build their Bestfr; 3. Those that build their nests on the "found, protected by grass, shrubbery or weeds: To the first class belong the. wren, the Purple martin, swallow, blue bird and, sorri to say. the pesky little English sParro\v, whom no farmer counts as his friend. The bait way In whieh we may encourage these winged creatures, is to Provide for them, neatly constructed homes, in. onr lawn and orchard trees. We know of no other occupation that gives a farmer hoy more pure enjoyment and better reward, than to build a lot of these "linature houses for the use of these valuable birds during their mating and brood- lng seasons. Many a pleasant hour can "e spent in providing these little tenements for hirds. If the work and time Put in making these birds homes is not Wore than repaid, in song and useful ser- v,pe. the writer is greatly mistaken. Along about the first of April one may "spect the general retnrn of most of our common birds and it will be to our young friends' interest to anticipate their arrival, by putting up these houses, to let to these busy laborers. In placing bird boxes one must be governed somewhat by the natural nesting habits of the tenants. The locality should be chosen with a view of pleasing them. For instance, the blue bird is accustomed to build his nest at a hight of about four feet from the ground, so by placing a bird house at this hight, you make his occupancy of the house more certain. This condition suits him and it prevents pugnacious Kngiish sparrow, which wages continual war tore against our loveable and useful native birds, and destroy farmers crops. These nervy foreigners will drive the modest blue bird and wren nway from the house and set themselves up as tyrants whenever permitted to do so. The sooner this rascal is numbered with the thing of the past, the better it will be with our serviceable American birds. A good wny to entrap, the Kngiish sparrow is to place grain, soaked in ethyl alcohol, within easy access of the birds but out of reach of the poultry. It will be an easy 1 _<■ "* ' Ifllif ""*> ■ ' » * * L.^sF-m,,* A- \ ■MmWt _mi*r*-. V # **~ .■■■ I '..:■■ j* IS ff . Farm Home of Mrs. Adella Lang. Fountain Co. his worst enemy, the Kngiish sparrow, from interfering with his domestic life, for this nuisance will not build his nest much lower than twenty feet from the ground. The openings in the blue bird box should not be larger than a silver dollar. The purple martin's home should be placed about twenty feet from the ground, and the doors to this future home should be opened promptly on April lst, so as not to give the English sparrow any chance to pre-empt the martin's claim. When the martin is through with bis tenancy, close up the box that the sparrow can not bother it. The natty little wren should have his tiny home, with doors just about the size of a quarter, left invitingly open, set up at about ten or twelve feet from the ground. This wren's box should be fastened to a tree, ns it is afforded a better protection there than any place else. As for the swallows they need no special house, fsir they adapt the barn eaves and spaces under the barn rafters al the peak of the roof, to their domestic needs. And what strange contributors they are with their peculiar nests, of mud. whose walls are made of the dried grasses and mnd, and the interior cosrly lined with soft chicken feathers. Il" ynu want the swallows to remain with you. see to it "that they have ample openings to pass in ,and out of the barn. Their cheerful twitter as they travel to and fro in quest of insects, will be in itself sufficient reward for your courtesy towards them. Every precaution shouhl be taken to keep awnv and ever to exterminate the matter to gather up the drunken sparrows and despatch them, while other birds unfortunate enough to eat this baited grain can be put aside and allowed to regain consciousness. The birds building their nests in trees and upon the ground do not require the encouragement of prepared homes. All they need is some evidence of friendliness on the part of man, and this may be shown by no molestation, and the exercise of common sense towards them. The robbin is the old reliable friend of the farmer. What farm home is complete in the springtime without the cherry song of Redbreast, or the sight of his nest in the trees upon the lawn? Encourage his presence and protect, him from his enemies. Then there are the Baltimore oriole, titmouse and blue jay,—all friendly tss the agriculturist, as insect destroyers, and which build their homes and rear their young near the dwellings of men. Do Sot drive Ihem away. Among those birds building their nests upon the ground may be mentioned, in particular, the friendly quail, the ground, or chipping, sparrow and the killdeer, all depending principally npon insects for food. It is a Matter of deep regret that the ruthless sportsman and pot hunter have rfiade snch alarming inroads upon the Bob White's numbers that he is fast becoming extinct iA our state. Knless our law makers insure him Setter protection he will sssssii ■_,, the way of the wild pigeon and wil.l turkey. This beautiful, useful and home luring bird is the farmers best native feathered friend. He is a great insect exterminator and particularly so in the case of the Colorado potato beetle and the wheat destroying Hessian lly. Life on au Indiana farm would seem unnatural without the welcome pipe of our friend Bob White. Po what is within your power to have laws passed to accord him his well deserved protection: We must have our native birds not only for the sake of sentiment surrounding them, but also for the sake of agricultural utility. Tbey are worthy of our care aud merit of mankind interest. H. S. Chamberlain. Spring Care of Meadows. Editors Iadlana Fanner: By the time the grass starts in the thin ansl unproductive spots in tbe meadows and pastures should have had a thin dressing of good manure. Don't overdo the thing and pile on too much manure in ona place, for that will kill out any grass that may he left and produce too rank a growth for several feet around. Just a thin spread, put on soon enough so that the last snows and early rains will work it down into the soil is all that is necessary. Go over these spots with a disk, if there are enough of them to make that necessary, and harrow down afterwards, and sow a mixture of grasses. If these things are looked after every spring we will have cleaner meadows and a much larger crop. We are doing too much slip-shod work on our meadows and pastures. One should know precisely the grasses best suited to each particular field, and know just how to handle the soil of each to bring it to best condition to produce the best quality and greatest amount of grass. In bringing grass lands to a gnoil condition, the roller should be used every spring, while the ground is ratner soft. It will press the crowns back into the soil, and firm the whole seed-bed so as to save moisture when the drying months of mid-summer come on. Heavy, firm soils are the best for continued growth, but an occasional disking will do most old meadows good. Sometimes there are spots which become so bound that they require vigorous treatment to get them into condition. Go at them rough shod and let the disk cr plow tear them all to pieces. I,. C. B. Illinois. Care of Manure. The most valuable manure made during the winter season, is while the fattening stock and dairy cows are eating up the crops of the previous year. The man- Use is a valuable by-product, and a little care in handling it properly will prevent any serious waste. The greatest loss comes from open feed-yards, those located on the side hill. It has been shown by tbe Ohio Experiment Station that when manure*was exposed for three months in an open yard during the winter or early spring, it lost nearly one-third of its total fertilizing value. These experiments also showed that more manure was produced from dairy cows than from fattening steers. We should not lose sight of the fact that the crops which we are now feMling. used up some of the most s ssi'inial elements in the soil, and also, that proper care of the manure made in both stables and yards, will return a large proportion of the material taken from the soil. There is a tendency this spring to sell both grain and young stock. This kind of policy will not keep up a farm very long. Keep tlio stoek at woi*k turning out your fertilizer for next season's crop.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1908, v. 63, no. 06 (Feb. 8) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA6306 |
Date of Original | 1908 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2011-03-23 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | VOL. LXIII INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 8, 1908. NO. 6 - '■ ■ Befriend the Birds. Editors Indiana Farmer: Sn much has been said and written by government experts, naturalists ami amateur observers, about the value of birds in their relation to agriculture, that any thing brought out now on this subject would seem useless of repetition. Yet the story of binls is one that will ever admit of rehearsal ami, in view of the fait of their useful mission, anyone will iloubtless be pardoned for discussing the subject again. As, spring time is not far distant, the birds will soon return to take up their commendable labor of protecting both fruit trees and grain fields from the pestiferous insects which destroy them. Recently President Dutcher of the Associated Audubon Societies, in commenting on the rapid disappearance of the native American birds, due to ruthless destruction and changed conditions, affecting tluir habits of life, said that tbis unwarranted decimation is costing our people eight hundred million dollars each vear, in crop losses by insects,—a sum equivalent to the total Xational Bank capitalization throughout our country. Tins enormous loss is borne directly by Die farmers and indircetly by the general imrjlte. It is a loss in crops, "which can in no wise be compensated for, and one which is directly the result of the stolid indifference of Americans, touching tin- protection of our useful native birds. If there ever was a time when public sentiment should be aroused, favorable to a general economic need it is now here, and that need is the adequate protection of our feathered friends and helpers. These bird friends are always welcome both for tbeir insect destroying traits and their cheerful songs, but we should give them more than an ordinary welcome upon their return. We should encourage and induce them to come and stay with us, all through the summer and work in our fields and orchards, as our most friendly and helpful allies. According to the methods of nest building and home site selection the common birds, on the farm, may be divided into three classes: 1. Those that select protected places, afforded either by nature or man, such ns a hollow in a tree, a bird house or something similar; -. Those that prefer the forks and .i'sitches of trees, in which to build their Bestfr; 3. Those that build their nests on the "found, protected by grass, shrubbery or weeds: To the first class belong the. wren, the Purple martin, swallow, blue bird and, sorri to say. the pesky little English sParro\v, whom no farmer counts as his friend. The bait way In whieh we may encourage these winged creatures, is to Provide for them, neatly constructed homes, in. onr lawn and orchard trees. We know of no other occupation that gives a farmer hoy more pure enjoyment and better reward, than to build a lot of these "linature houses for the use of these valuable birds during their mating and brood- lng seasons. Many a pleasant hour can "e spent in providing these little tenements for hirds. If the work and time Put in making these birds homes is not Wore than repaid, in song and useful ser- v,pe. the writer is greatly mistaken. Along about the first of April one may "spect the general retnrn of most of our common birds and it will be to our young friends' interest to anticipate their arrival, by putting up these houses, to let to these busy laborers. In placing bird boxes one must be governed somewhat by the natural nesting habits of the tenants. The locality should be chosen with a view of pleasing them. For instance, the blue bird is accustomed to build his nest at a hight of about four feet from the ground, so by placing a bird house at this hight, you make his occupancy of the house more certain. This condition suits him and it prevents pugnacious Kngiish sparrow, which wages continual war tore against our loveable and useful native birds, and destroy farmers crops. These nervy foreigners will drive the modest blue bird and wren nway from the house and set themselves up as tyrants whenever permitted to do so. The sooner this rascal is numbered with the thing of the past, the better it will be with our serviceable American birds. A good wny to entrap, the Kngiish sparrow is to place grain, soaked in ethyl alcohol, within easy access of the birds but out of reach of the poultry. It will be an easy 1 _<■ "* ' Ifllif ""*> ■ ' » * * L.^sF-m,,* A- \ ■MmWt _mi*r*-. V # **~ .■■■ I '..:■■ j* IS ff . Farm Home of Mrs. Adella Lang. Fountain Co. his worst enemy, the Kngiish sparrow, from interfering with his domestic life, for this nuisance will not build his nest much lower than twenty feet from the ground. The openings in the blue bird box should not be larger than a silver dollar. The purple martin's home should be placed about twenty feet from the ground, and the doors to this future home should be opened promptly on April lst, so as not to give the English sparrow any chance to pre-empt the martin's claim. When the martin is through with bis tenancy, close up the box that the sparrow can not bother it. The natty little wren should have his tiny home, with doors just about the size of a quarter, left invitingly open, set up at about ten or twelve feet from the ground. This wren's box should be fastened to a tree, ns it is afforded a better protection there than any place else. As for the swallows they need no special house, fsir they adapt the barn eaves and spaces under the barn rafters al the peak of the roof, to their domestic needs. And what strange contributors they are with their peculiar nests, of mud. whose walls are made of the dried grasses and mnd, and the interior cosrly lined with soft chicken feathers. Il" ynu want the swallows to remain with you. see to it "that they have ample openings to pass in ,and out of the barn. Their cheerful twitter as they travel to and fro in quest of insects, will be in itself sufficient reward for your courtesy towards them. Every precaution shouhl be taken to keep awnv and ever to exterminate the matter to gather up the drunken sparrows and despatch them, while other birds unfortunate enough to eat this baited grain can be put aside and allowed to regain consciousness. The birds building their nests in trees and upon the ground do not require the encouragement of prepared homes. All they need is some evidence of friendliness on the part of man, and this may be shown by no molestation, and the exercise of common sense towards them. The robbin is the old reliable friend of the farmer. What farm home is complete in the springtime without the cherry song of Redbreast, or the sight of his nest in the trees upon the lawn? Encourage his presence and protect, him from his enemies. Then there are the Baltimore oriole, titmouse and blue jay,—all friendly tss the agriculturist, as insect destroyers, and which build their homes and rear their young near the dwellings of men. Do Sot drive Ihem away. Among those birds building their nests upon the ground may be mentioned, in particular, the friendly quail, the ground, or chipping, sparrow and the killdeer, all depending principally npon insects for food. It is a Matter of deep regret that the ruthless sportsman and pot hunter have rfiade snch alarming inroads upon the Bob White's numbers that he is fast becoming extinct iA our state. Knless our law makers insure him Setter protection he will sssssii ■_,, the way of the wild pigeon and wil.l turkey. This beautiful, useful and home luring bird is the farmers best native feathered friend. He is a great insect exterminator and particularly so in the case of the Colorado potato beetle and the wheat destroying Hessian lly. Life on au Indiana farm would seem unnatural without the welcome pipe of our friend Bob White. Po what is within your power to have laws passed to accord him his well deserved protection: We must have our native birds not only for the sake of sentiment surrounding them, but also for the sake of agricultural utility. Tbey are worthy of our care aud merit of mankind interest. H. S. Chamberlain. Spring Care of Meadows. Editors Iadlana Fanner: By the time the grass starts in the thin ansl unproductive spots in tbe meadows and pastures should have had a thin dressing of good manure. Don't overdo the thing and pile on too much manure in ona place, for that will kill out any grass that may he left and produce too rank a growth for several feet around. Just a thin spread, put on soon enough so that the last snows and early rains will work it down into the soil is all that is necessary. Go over these spots with a disk, if there are enough of them to make that necessary, and harrow down afterwards, and sow a mixture of grasses. If these things are looked after every spring we will have cleaner meadows and a much larger crop. We are doing too much slip-shod work on our meadows and pastures. One should know precisely the grasses best suited to each particular field, and know just how to handle the soil of each to bring it to best condition to produce the best quality and greatest amount of grass. In bringing grass lands to a gnoil condition, the roller should be used every spring, while the ground is ratner soft. It will press the crowns back into the soil, and firm the whole seed-bed so as to save moisture when the drying months of mid-summer come on. Heavy, firm soils are the best for continued growth, but an occasional disking will do most old meadows good. Sometimes there are spots which become so bound that they require vigorous treatment to get them into condition. Go at them rough shod and let the disk cr plow tear them all to pieces. I,. C. B. Illinois. Care of Manure. The most valuable manure made during the winter season, is while the fattening stock and dairy cows are eating up the crops of the previous year. The man- Use is a valuable by-product, and a little care in handling it properly will prevent any serious waste. The greatest loss comes from open feed-yards, those located on the side hill. It has been shown by tbe Ohio Experiment Station that when manure*was exposed for three months in an open yard during the winter or early spring, it lost nearly one-third of its total fertilizing value. These experiments also showed that more manure was produced from dairy cows than from fattening steers. We should not lose sight of the fact that the crops which we are now feMling. used up some of the most s ssi'inial elements in the soil, and also, that proper care of the manure made in both stables and yards, will return a large proportion of the material taken from the soil. There is a tendency this spring to sell both grain and young stock. This kind of policy will not keep up a farm very long. Keep tlio stoek at woi*k turning out your fertilizer for next season's crop. |
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