Excerpt from The Economic Value of Birds to the State
The bird is the property of the State. From this fundamental conception of the bird"s legal status there can be no logical ground for dissent. If a certain species of bird is conclusively proven to be injurious to the agricultural or other interests of the State, no one would deny the State"s right to destroy that species. If, on the contrary, a species is shown to be beneficial, then the State has an equal right to protect it. Indeed, we may go further and say it is not only the right, but the duty of the State to give to its birds the treatment they deserve. Here is the great Commonwealth of New York with agricultural and forestry industries which annually yield products valued at $266,000,000. In the closest relation to the welfare of these industries stands a group of animals represented by some 350 species and millions of individuals. Obviously, then, it is the first duty of the State to learn definitely in what way or ways the presence of these incalculably abundant creatures affects its crops and forests.
If they are harmful how are they to be destroyed? If they are valuable how are they to be preserved? In short, the State should take all necessary steps to appraise its vast possessions in bird-life.
The government at Washington realizes the importance of this subject and in 1886 it established, in the Department of Agriculture, a Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammology, with the object of learning accurately the economic relations of birds and mammals to man. Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, among the States, have made investigations with the same end in view. Now the South is awakening to the vital importance of this practical side of natural history research. At the Annual Session of the Texas Farmers Congress, held at College Station, Texas. July 17, 1902, Professor H. P. Attwater, a prominent ornithologist in the State, was invited to make an address on "The Relation of Birds to the Farmer."
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The Economic Value of Birds to the State (Classic Reprint) (Frank M. Chapman)