. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . )revent cats and squirrels from climb-ing it. A smooth,tall, slim pole, madeof a peeled saplingpine set in the open,is rarely climbed bycats or squirrels. Thick thorn bushesoften serve as safenesting places forbirds. Bundles ofthorny sticks tiedaround tree trunkswill keep cats out ofthe trees. An islandin a small artificial Pig. 171. —Zim- bands to prevent cats or squirrels
. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . )revent cats and squirrels from climb-ing it. A smooth,tall, slim pole, madeof a peeled saplingpine set in the open,is rarely climbed bycats or squirrels. Thick thorn bushesoften serve as safenesting places forbirds. Bundles ofthorny sticks tiedaround tree trunkswill keep cats out ofthe trees. An islandin a small artificial Pig. 171. —Zim- bands to prevent cats or squirrels i^ond is llsO a refusefrom climbing trees or poles. * from cats. The bestcat-proof fence for a city garden is that used by Mr. WilliamBrewster at Cambridge. It is made of wire nettino; somesix feet in height, surmounted by a fish seine of heavy twine,which is fastened to the top of the wire. The top of the net isthen looped to the ends of long, flexible garden stakes. Thisfabric gives beneath any weight, and offers so unstable a foot-ing that no cat ever succeeds in scaling it. Mr. Brewstersgarden has become famous for the numbers of birds that breedthere, and the migrants that visit it 3^ear by THE PROTECTION OF FARM PRODUCTS FROM BIRDS. Serious losses sometimes occur from injury inflicted oncrops or poultiy by birds. It is well to remember, how-ever, that, while the harm done by birds is conspicuous,the compensating good that they do is usually most cases it is l)est not to kill them, but to protect bothbirds and crops ; for by killing too many Ijirds we may dis-turb the biological equilibrium, and bring about a greater THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 411 injury than the one we attempt to prevent. The destructionof too many corn-pulling Crows, for example, might be fol-lowed by such an increase of grubs and grasshoj^pers that nograss could be grown ; or the extermination of Hawks andOwls might be succeeded by the destruction of all the youngfruit trees by horde
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidusefulbi, booksubjectbirds
