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Abstract

THE author of this little book holds that no British bird is utterly and wholly destructive, but that the misdeeds of even the most mischievous are atoned for in some degree by services rendered to us in other ways. Birds aid us, he points out, in three ways—first, by acting as scavengers, and destroying putrid matter; secondly, by devouring the seeds of the various wild plants which are so troublesome upon cultivated land; thirdly, and most important, by the slaughter of insects. The limitations of space have prevented Mr. Wood from mentioning all the birds he would have liked to describe, but he has found room for an account of most of the British birds which are especially beneficial. He writes simply, clearly, and with adequate knowledge; and there are probably few farmers who would not profit by studying what he has to say on a subject in which they ought to be strongly interested. He expresses his firm conviction that agriculture, as a profitable undertaking, is absolutely dependent upon the preservation of the “feathered race,” and in support of this opinion he has brought together much solid evidence. Two of the best Chapters in the book are on the sparrow, which he admits to be, during harvest, an unmitigated nuisance. He thinks, however, that even at such times “the farmer best consults his own interests by merely scaring the bird away in place of destroying it, and that sooner or later he will reap his reward for his wise forbearance.”

Our Bird Allies.

By Theodore Wood. (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1887.)