Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / June 24, 1911, edition 1 / Page 1
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V 2 Pt ., 1 " m MOT 3E HOP i P. F. Title Kef ' ' Patent Ottlce. A Farm and Home Ueebly for North and .f01tl South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia; VcL XXVI. Ho. 25. DALEI6D, fl. C, JUNE 24, 1911. UeeUy: JlaYccr. BOB WHITE, FRIEND ' OF THE ' FARMER. iilllil Hiillii ililll iiliii 4- ' jf . A YO EVERY boy or girl raised on the farm, we feel sure,admires and loves Bob White,our com mon quail, or "partridge" as he is usually called. He is such a fine-looking fellow, when he flies up on a post or stump and looks at the landscape, so spruce, so graceful, so gallant ; there is so much mu ic in his voice as he calls out, "Bob White, Bob White,? across the fields in the sunset cool of a summer day; be is such good sport and such gcod eating that it is eay to understand why he is a general . favorite. There is not one of us who would not miss;him if he came into the orchards and meadows no It u nblronly because he is a tbmg of beauty, and a cheerful and interesting neighbor, how ever, lhat he sbould be regarded with particular inendlmess. Every quail is worth g iod hard money to the farmer on i whose land he takes up his abode. As a destroyer of weeds and insects he has few equals. A recent writer in the Youth's, Companion tells ol some actual meals nude by. these active and hearty little birds, and the figures are surprisng. In a single day one quail has eaten 12,500 plao . tain seeds. Otner records are: 12,000 pigweed seeds or 15,000 of lamb's quarter in a day, and 1,000 of crab grass at a meal. When it comes to insects his appetite is equally good. One quail ate 5,000 plant lice in a day. At anoth er time the same bird de voured 568 mosquitoes in three hows and then quit only because the supply gave out. They eat all sorts of u jurious insects, too, potato beetles, cutworms, Hessian flies, boll weevils, chinch bugs, codling ' moths, grass hoppersHust anything that comes handy it seems. It is hard even to conceive of the vast number of injur ious insects a covey of quail will con sume in the course oha year. The destruction of 'every one of these in sects, too, is a positive benefit to the farmer; and for this reason alone, one sVould alwajs hesitate be fore killing a quail, or indeed a bird of any kind unless positively known to be injurious. Scientists tell us, and they are doubtless right about it, that if it were notfor the birds it would be a matter, of only a few years until the insects and creeping things would have the upper hand of us. "The crops' would disappear from our fields, and men everywhere would be in danger of starvation .simply because they would be unab'e tb combat the countless miili tudes of insects which would devour and destroy the plants upon which men depend for food. r ' Every boy, therefore, who wantonly kills a bird, or injures .a nest, not onlydoes a cruel and ' unmanly thing, but also makes it harder for the farmer to raise his crops to maturity. The pro tection of a quail's nest or of a brood of young ones should be mm lit YOUNGSTER.' A THE QUAIL'S NEST SHOULD BE PROTECTED.1 considered a matter of course. There is some e xcuse for shooting Bob Wnite after he grows ; up and is able to a large extent to take care of himself, but there can be absolutely none for the killing of any song bird not good for food, v or lor the breaking up of any bird's nest. , Let us protect the quail, then. If we find a nest, leave it sacredly alone; discourage as far v as possible the roaming of worthless dogs over, the fields; regulate hunting and insist that never shall a covey of quail be completely killed out. The man who will do this is no sportsman, any way, but is a mere butcher. The true sportsman, is going to be satisfied with a reasonable "kill." Proper protection of our game birds will be of J bene! it tbl)othr hunted comes a question as to whether the farmer or , hunter is to prevail the farmers rights must always prevail over the hunter's wishes. No man should be allowed to shoot on another's land without permission, and always the hunter should be under strict super : vision.;, v.:1 ; " t':'': And while protecting our good friend Bob, let us remember that the other birds deserve the same friend- r ship and care. The crow is a nusiance of ten; sometimes it is well to use a' shotgun on a flock of blackbirds; the English sparrow does harm by driving more useful birds away; it may occa sionally be necessary to make an orch ard or garden unpleasant for the rob ins or catbirds; in some sections the rice birds become too numerous; two t or three hawks and one or two species 'of owls are injurious. But aside from these it is safe to protect by any means in ourpower all the birds with which we meet It is only because we have not appreciated their value that we have not done all in ourpower. to insure their safety and happiness; and certainly the jnan or boy who would needlessly injure one of these little creatures is lacking in some of the finer qualities of real manhood. ; FEATURES OF THIS ISSUE. !4s . ...... A BREAD-MAKING SYMPOSIUM ;7r. ; . . FAUM-LIFB SCHOOLS Some Objections Answered by State Su-' perlntendent Joyner .......... . ............... . 12 FEEDS FOR THE DAHIY OOW Cottonseed Meal the Cheapest j. of All Concentrates 1. . . ...... . . . . . . . 10 HOW TO MAKE CONCRETE TILE AT HOME Full Directions With ninstratlons .w . .... . . , . THE DUST MULCH A Matter of Modi Importance Just Now.. THE PROFITS IN DAIRYING Could Be Greatly Increased.... WHEN TO SOW CRIMSON AND BUR CLOVER Dangers of Too Early Seeding 4 a 8 3
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 24, 1911, edition 1
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