. Elementary principles of agriculture; a text book for the common schools. harmful insects, weed seeds,mice, etc. Some birds eat the grain or do much damageto the fruit, but without the birds, the insects would befar more destructive. In 1753, Benjamin Franklinwrote to a friend:—In New England they once thoughtblackbirds useless, and mischievous to the corn. Theymade efforts to destroy them. The consequence was,the blackbirds diminished, but a kind of worm which de-voured their grass, and which the blackbirds used to feedupon, increased prodigiously; then, finding their lossin grass greater t
. Elementary principles of agriculture; a text book for the common schools. harmful insects, weed seeds,mice, etc. Some birds eat the grain or do much damageto the fruit, but without the birds, the insects would befar more destructive. In 1753, Benjamin Franklinwrote to a friend:—In New England they once thoughtblackbirds useless, and mischievous to the corn. Theymade efforts to destroy them. The consequence was,the blackbirds diminished, but a kind of worm which de-voured their grass, and which the blackbirds used to feedupon, increased prodigiously; then, finding their lossin grass greater than their gain in corn, they wishedagain for the blackbirds. 250. Birds Like Insect Food Best. Every one hasnoticed how the field-larks, and other birds, fly into the newly plowed furrow. Theyare not looking for freshlyplanted seeds as some sup-pose, but for worms and in-sects which the plow prefer insects, but willeat weed or grain seeds if in-sects are scarce. In summerthe field-lark (or meadow-lark, as he is most often calledin the North) eats insects. Fig. 115. Food of the meadow-lark for the year. (180) Wild Birds and Other Insect-eating Animals 181 almost entirely, but in winter when he cannot findinsects, he has to eat weed seeds, and waste grain. (SeeFig. 115 and table of food by months.) The young ofall kind of birds, including those of the vegetable-feeding adults, feed largely on insects. (See Fig. 116.)Food of the Meadow-lark by Months for the Year. Months StomachsExamined January 13 February .. 1 March 12 April 28 May 8 June 20 July 18 August 28 September 29 October 40 November 22 December 19 .238 AnimalFoodPer GrainPer cent .00 .00 .40 .61 Weed Seeds Per cent .36 .13 .65 .40 Total Per cent 100 100 100100100100100100100100100100 100 Total for year. 251. Beneficial Birds Should not be
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