The Huntly Press PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, March 20, 1914. Notes and Comments.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 6, 20 March 1914, Page 2

The Huntly Press PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, March 20, 1914. Notes and Comments.

IF, as Bret Harte, averred, the

Cake And Candy.

heathen Chinee is peculiar, the energetic lady

members or tne Presbyterian Church Guild must bo awarded the palm for ingenuity as displayed in their efforts to wile the nimble penny into the coffers which will shortly be emptied for church purposes in the hope that they will return trebled within a few weeks. Not long ago they organised a “cobweb” social, and last Saturday they followed up their success with a “cake and candy” fair, their use of “ apt alliteration’s artful aid ” in finding titles for the product of their ingenious and ingenuous schemes not only exciting curiosity, hut, by being novel, affording them a capital advertisement. As no case of acute indigestion arising from the lavish patronage accorded has been chronicled, and, as the bazaar will benefit considerably from the fair, the ladies need not bother about the opinions of John Knox, or other Presbyterian divines of the austere type who regarded a smile with suspicion, a dance as a snare, and an organ as a “ kist o’ whustles ” whose meretricious aid to praise was an invention of Saw tan himself.

Although the cricket club ap-

The Boom IN

pears incapable of resuscitation, and the rowing club: has ‘irone. over in

Athletics. ! 80110 ov >r ° i the great majority.” the beginning of an athletic boom is apparent in the success that has rewarded the efforts of the Sports Committee, especially those of the secretary, to Whose energy arid canvassing prowess the prize money and trophies already secured hears eloquent testimony as well as in the successful initiation of a cycling club whose career, it is to he hoped, will not resemble the evanescence of the “ snow flake on a river, or the borealis race that flits ere you can point the place.” Athletics, in so far ; as they tend to produce the sound j body necessary to the sound j mind,and so long as they are kept i clean and free from the sordid in- i fiueiices that lead to]deg*> Deration, and while they become the means to‘ an end and not the end itself, are Well worthy of encouragement, and the fact that tennis, football, cycling, and other athle- j tic clubs are vigorous and flourish- j ing is proof sufficient that tlie ' younger residents are learning j on the playing* fields the lessons j of self-reliance and self control j thatywill prove beneficial when ! their time comes to play a use- j fill part in one or other of the local government bodies.

In this connection, the fol-

The VALUE OF Birds.

lowing figures re- j suiting from ex- j periments made at Winconsin Univerversity with a Vir-

giman wren, a little marsh bird, about six inches high, and weighing less than half a pound, will prove the value of birds in purging fields, gardens and orchards of pests that destroy crops. The first day’s observation showed that, the wren actually consumed — 144 insects of various sorts; 12 grass-hoppers ; 12 meal-worms ; 1 stickleback ; 1 fish, 2inches long , 1 caterpillar; 15 flies. During the second day the bird’s diet was somewhat similar, with the addition, however, of 5 hornets ; 1 crawfish, 2 inches long ; 1 snake, 8 inches long. Thus, in two days, the wren, which possesses a remarkable appetite ate more than its own weight in food, thus proving how valuable and useful it and the feathered tribe, generally, are to farmers, gardeners, and orchardists, and appealing on account of their utility for I that protection which mere humanity alone should accord.

The growth of settlement and ;

Birds AND FORESTS

the opening up of the j back blocks are gencr- i ally accompanied by | * the destruction of the j

primeval forest and the decimation of (he beautiful and tuneful wild birds that make their home* there. The disappearance of the bush and the increasing scarcity of its feathered denizens are deplored by all who regard wild life and natural beauty as the common heritage of the people, and any organisation that has for its object the preservation, conservation and protection of forest and bird life should receive a hearty welcome and generous support. Such a society has recen tl v come into existence,wit)i the Governor as patron and many well known gentlemen as officials, the sole object of Ihe organisation being the conservation of Wild Nature by inculcating among the public, and especially among the children, an intelligent interest in the flora and fauna of their native or adopted country; by conserving Native Forests wherever situated, and rendering their destruction impossible ; and by assisting every movement to protect such areas of land as may be set aside as sanctuaries for birds or plants. The appalling destruction of birds, which has been unchecked hitherto, and the ruthless and wanton cruelty that accompanies their inhuman slaughter for sordid commercial purposes have outraged the feelings of civilised communities, and the institution of a protective society in the Dominion is the corollary of a crusade that is annually becoming mor world-wide. Public sentiment is always with institutions of the kind : but, while it is well have public sympathy, there is required that practical and tangible sympathy without which no organisation can do either lasting or temporary work. The secretary of the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protect! n Society, Mr C. I. Dasent, Wellington (205, Lambton Quay), will no doubt be glad to receive donations or membership fees from all interested in perpetuating our forests and the feathered tribes that find their nesting place there.