Page:Acclimatisation; its eminent adaptation to Australia.djvu/26

24 all but 296 had been rendered worthless by insects. The reduction of yield in oil was 32&middot;8 per cent. In Germany, according to Latreille, the larva of a species of moth (phalæna monacha) consumed whole forests. In Eastern Prussia, three years ago, more than 24,000,000 cubic metres of fir had to be cut down because the trees were attacked by insects. Man is unable to cope with these destroyers of the produce of his labour. His eye is too dull to perceive, and his hand too slow to catch them. Without the aid of birds he would be vanquished in the struggle. The commission excludes birds of prey, such as magpies, ravens, &c., with the exception of buzzards and rooks, from the benefit of its protection, because the buzzard consumes about 6000 mice yearly, and the rook an incalculable amount of white worms. Sparrows are restored, and their usefulness shown by reference to the fact that when their destruction was attempted in Hungary winged insects increased so rapidly that rewards for the destruction of sparrows were suppressed, and given for bringing them hack. Frederick the Great ordered the destruction of sparrows, because they ate his cherries; but in two years’ time lie found his cherries, and all other fruits, consumed by caterpillars. In a sparrow’s nest on a terrace in the Rue Vivienne were found the remains of 700 cockchafers. Owls and birds of that class, which agricultural ignorance pursues as birds of evil omen, ought to be welcomed. They are ten times more useful than the best cats, and not dangerous to the larder. The martens that were killed were found to have in their stomachs the remains of 543 insects. It recommended a prohibition of bird-nesting, and destruction of eggs or young birds. The petitions were referred to the Minister of Commerce and Public Works.

There is an elegant bird among the gallinaceæ which might be introduced into this country—the curassow (crax carunculata), a native of South America, ranging from Southern Mexico to the southern confines of Brazil. There are about a dozen species of this bird. They are as large as a turkey, and as they endure the climate of England, with very moderate protection, they could easily be acclimatised in Australia. In the last century they were reared in Holland and brought to table, and at present several instances are known of their breeding freely in the vicinity of Paris. Their introduction would certainly be most desirable, not merely on account of their size and beauty, but also for the whiteness and excellence of the flesh, which is said by those who have eaten it to surpass that of the guinea fowl or of the pheasant in the delicacy of its flavour.