THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 70, Issue 6, 15 June 1945, Page 657

THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR

“DAME NATURE’S MINSTRELS” I WONDER how many readers have a bird for a pet. One woman I know is the proud . owner of a bluey-grey parrot with a vermilion tail, brought to her from South Africa by a relation some years ago. The bird not only possesses an extensive vocabulary, but can imitate the tones of various people’s voices in the most remarkable way, and is so pampered in consequence that he virtually rules the household. My neighbour’s aviary is full of love-birds-turquoise and amethyst, opal and gold and jewel-green, they dart continuously from one branch to another till the air seems an ever-changing pattern of iridescent hues. The local fishmonger has a penchant for these dainty little birds, too, and exhibits a pair of them in his shop. It is not at all unusual for a customer to spend far longer admiring the bright-winged birds than in the selection of her purchase. A friend of mine persuaded her husband to build a dove-cote in a sheltered corner of the garden, and she now specialises in pigeonsthe white, fantailed variety; another keeps bantams, whose habit of roosting in trees is a source of constant amusement both to her and her small son. A third friend spends most of her spare time teaching her budgie to talk and perform various tricks. So far, my own experience has been confined to canaries. I used to have one with plumage the colour of sunlight and a voice sweeter than the love-notes of Tutanekai’s flute. It was pure joy to listen to him. I faithfully carried out all the instructions I received concerning his . care; . but, alas!, despite my efforts he succumbed during a particularly cold spell in mid-winter. Though nearly, a year has passed, the memory of my little bird of sunshine remains a poignant one and the yellow cage is still empty. The child who looks after a pet bird or is taught to put out crumbs and other titbits for the sparrows and starlings and blackbirds which ; throng the lawn is much more likely when he finds a bird’s nest to leave it inviolate than to display an acquisitive attitude towards its precious contents. Parents would do well to encourage their children’s interest in the bird-life of our own country. We have over 200 different kinds of native birds, of which quite a large proportion are species not found in any other part of the world. There are the flightless

birds for instance: , the weka, with its thrushlike call; the kiwi, which lays a bigger egg in comparison with the size of its body than any other bird; the kakapo, or ground parrot, which has a face like an owl and “grazes like a rabbit.” The beak of the wrybill plover is shaped in a right-handed curve so that it can hunt under stones for food. The ken’s powerful red wings range the mountain peaks, yet its cry resembles the plaintive mewing of a cat. The huia, whose plumes were greatly prized by the Maoris, is also unique, the male bird having a small, curved bill strong enough to drill holes in the' bark of trees, while the female’s beak is long and slender and suited <to the task of probing after grubs. No other poet has described our native birds more beautifully than Eileen Duggan. Her “New Zealand Bird Songs” include poems on the gannet, “grey like the water and white like the foam”; the graceful fantail; the bluewattled kokako; the tui’s golden chime; the wood pigeon“O breast of soft, soft silver, O plumes of summer blue”; the shining cuckoo’s cry, “pipi-wha-rau-roa”; the hihi (stitch-bird), whose down is like “cloth of gold”; the bittern calling through the swampland; the migratory kuaka, or godwit, which flies to our shores every year from the tundras of Asia—

“We’ll nest on the steppes and put on our red kirties, Teaching our scared little children to fly. Then we stretch wing for the sea and the summer, > Forth in July; forth in July . . . . . Will you forget us or will you remember? I shall remember, wherever I roam. Look for me, sweet, on the first of December, I shall come home; 1 shall come home.” Another writer who extols “Dame Nature’s minstrels” is Perrine Moncrieff, and her compact volume, “New Zealand Birds and How to Identify Them,” contains a wealth of interesting information for bird lovers. Mrs. Moncrieff is also a musician of considerable ability, and many of her pianoforte compositions are based on the lovely songs of our native birds. May all New Zealanders share her wish “to protect our feathered friends, which in addition to their usefulness, t gladden us with their playful ways, tVWfTyI glorious song, and // marvellous plum- J / age.” - - ~ *7 •

ROOSEVELT

THE latest biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt is by a New Zealander, W. Philip Carman, of Wellington. Mr. Carman’s interest in American affairs received considerable stimulus during his visit to the U.S.A, while on a trip round the world some years ago. His literary activities include numerous articles, two gardening booklets, and 1 the editing of the “Gardener’s Digest,” and he has just been appointed editor of “Conquest,” a magazine for youth which will commence publication shortly. Although his account of the life of Roosevelt is brief in comparison with other biographies, none of the essential facts relative to the history of the “greatest American of our age” have been omitted. Indeed, the author’s concise treatment of his subject, combined with his graphic, straightforward style, gives the reader a vivid portrait of the late President, and also of those closest to him —his father, who supplemented a liberal education with sport, hobbies, and travel; his mother, who lived to see

her son become a world-famous statesman; his wife, whose loyalty and co-operation rendered her such an invaluable helpmate, particularly after he contracted infantile paralysis, “a devastating blow for one who was a keen athlete and lover of outdoor life . . . For twenty-five years the paralysis crippled his body. But he mastered it. He kept it severely in its place and lived and worked like

a perfectly healthy man.” His bril- . liant and inspiring leadership, which shaped the destiny not only of the 1 American nation but of the world, formed a splendid sequel to his heroic efforts in conquering his physical affliction. The biographer’s able summary of Roosevelt’s political achievements—including the New z Deal and Lend Lease, the latter being described by Churchill as that “extraordinary measure . . . which will stand forth as the most unselfish, unsordid financial act of a country in all history”—is nicely balanced by his apt. word pictures of the man who during the difficult years of economic depression had friendly “fireside chats’’ with the , people via the medium of the radio; who never at any time in his career “lost touch with humanity”; who established and endowed the Warm Springs Foundation, Georgia, for the benefit of cripples; who received ,an average of one visitor every quarter of an hour during the greater part of his office hours. “America’s good fortune for just over twelve years ' was that she had in control a strong leader possessed of .vision, wisdom, warmth, breadth of mind, tolerance, and a sense of humour. May he be the forerunner of a new race of statesmen.” >

Country Mother's Health Plan AFTER reading the Department of Health’s article on. “Country Mothers and Child Health” I would like to tell you how I feed my family for health. (I know that unfortunately there are, and will continue to be, many country homes as described, while mothers assist in the milking sheds arid consequently ■ have neither the time nor energy to study food values or do the extra , work entailed by a planned diet.) I start by feeding my garden soil and fruit trees with compost and organic manure. Fruit arid vegetables are, eaten raw as much as possible. When cooking vegetables I steam them- or bake them on the oven shelf, - peeling them only when necessary. < My children are all fond of milk and do not care for tea. Their school lunches consist of fruit and sandwiches of home-made wholemeal bread,; with cheese, lettuce, eggs, fish, raisins, meat, liver, tomato, etc., for filling. They don’t carry milk, as they have 3 miles to ride and a further 11 miles to travel by bus, but the milk jug is: soon emptied after they return home. They are well sun-tanned and their teeth are good. They sleep on ( a wide verandah built especially for the purpose. The boys recently walked 35

miles in a day to the nearest beach, and the girl thinks nothing of riding 20 or 30 miles. Of course, they have had their share of sickness, but I pride myself they have strong constitutions —that is what I have striven for ever since they were born. “Glendine.” z Ambitions Heights Where the trees climb the spur in a row, To a copse on a breeze-fondled knoll;: Where the bluebells and red lichens ■.grow,. . < ' That in beauty the sun’s warmth extol; Where quietly the brown beech leaves fall, To crisp on the short, brittle grass, I hark while heat-drowsy birds call, , ; And feel the caressing winds pass. « Far above me the mountains. rise blue, Rock-rugged, snow-mottled, austere.;They : have cold, regal beauty, ’tis true, But such beauty commands awe .and fear. J . From this knoll, then, I will not climb higher; ' ,V’ •; It is brown and sunwarmed and smooth; To the mountains I will not aspire, But will stay where the bird-croonings soothe. —Elsie S. Arnold.