Birds, Resemblances of, to Men—See Human Traits in Birds.
BIRDS, VALUE OF
The bird is not only our brother—he is
far more. He is our benefactor, our preserver,
for the simple reason that he alone
is able to hold in check the most powerful
race on earth—the insects. It is well known
to scientific men that the insect tribes, unchecked,
would control the earth. Innumerable,
multiplying with a rapidity that defies
figures and even comprehension, devouring
everything that has, or has had, life, from
the vegetable to the man, and living but to
eat, these myriads would soon, if left to
themselves, reduce our planet to a barren
wilderness, uninhabitable by man or beast.—Olive
Thorne Miller, "The Bird Our
Brother."
(248)
BIRTH CEREMONIES
On the birth of a Parsee child a magian
and a fire priest, who is always an astrologer,
are called in to predict the future life of the
babe. The magian, drest in a strange robe
of many colors, a pointed cap with jingling
bells, and armed with a long broom made of
beresma twigs (which is thought to have the
power of putting evil spirits to flight), enters
the chamber of the Parsee mother and
babe and setting the end of his broom on
fire dances around, exorcising the evil spirits;
finally he flourishes his firebrand over the
mother and child and in all the corners of
the room. This done, the fire-priest draws
a number of squares on a blackboard; in one
corner of each square he draws a curious
figure of bird, beast, fish or insect, each of
which stands for some mental, physical, or
spiritual characteristic, together with its appropriate
star or planet. The magian then
proceeds by means of spells and incantations
to exercise any evil spirit that may be lurking
unseen in the blackboard. Next the fire-priest
begins to count and recount the stars
under whose influence the child is supposed
to be born, and then with closed eyes and
solemn voice he predicts the future life of
the babe. Next he prepares a horoscope or
birth-paper and hands it to the father. Then,
placing the babe on his knees, he waves over
it the sacred flame, sprinkles it with holy
water, fills its ears and nostrils with sea-*salt
to keep out the evil spirits, and finally
returns the screaming infant to its mother's
arms.—Mrs. Leonowens, Wide Awake.
(249)
BIRTH-RATE IN FRANCE
Will the French nation live to the twenty-first or twenty-second century or will they by that time have committed suicide? asks Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu, French deputy, professor in the Free School of Political Science, and assistant editor of the important Économiste Français (Paris), in which he writes with patriotic passion in the following strain, apropos of the recently published Government Census returns:
There is no doubt whatever that the French
people are rushing to suicide. If they continue
on this course, the French nation, those
of French stock, will have lost a fifth of
their number before the expiration of the
present century and will absolutely have
vanished from Europe by the end of the
twenty-second century; that is, in two hundred
years. It is now twenty years ago
that we first stated this frightful fact. So
far we have been a voice in the wilderness.
While people are eternally discussing the advantages
of secular education and the beauty
of the income tax, and all the grand democratic
reforms that are to come, amid all
the fine speeches of sophistical cranks, the
French people are gradually committing suicide.
They are tightening the cord about the
national neck; the breath of life is becoming
feebler and now is but a gasp which must
soon end in silence.
This writer says that marriage still
exists in France, but it is no longer an
institution "intended," according to the
language of the Book of Common
Prayer, "for the procreation of children."
On this aspect of the question
he remarks:
People still marry in France almost as frequently
as in other countries. But this does
not result in the multiplication of children.
In 1909 marriages to the number of 307,954
were celebrated, which amounted to 7.85 for
every thousand inhabitants, a slightly less
proportion than during the years immediately
preceding.
But divorce with all its consequences
is on the increase in France, and we
read:
If the marriage-rate remains normal in
France, divorces are becoming more and
