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Show TIIE PAYSOXIAX. PAYSOX, UTAH, APRIL 22, 1921. XXXXX000X0X0000XX0XXXXXXXXXXX0 as The Seagull and Its Value to the State XXXXKKXXX000 The greedy but CK00C00X00KX0XXCX0XX000 graceful sou gull the western sky as a urt harbinger of the Utah springtime renders a sen ice that is valued at $25 by the framers of the national migratory bird laws, and at another $25 by the enactors of the Utah slate game and bird laws. This combined valuation of $50 may bo assessed against the de stroyer of a gull a5 a just con. pen gation to the interstate interest and tho Utah state interests that are thus deprived of the unique service of this scientific scavenger. Coming in clusters along the un marked paths of the air from the California coasts, with the first farming activities in Utah in .March or April, (ho gulls begin their tin less They scour the quest fur food. country from the Sanjicte and to the Cache valleys, and from the dry farms on tho edge of the desert to the upper Weber nnd Ho numerous Provo river valleys. are the gulls in our valleys, and so indescribably dense do they gather l the at roosting time in rookeries in Great Salt bake that the full population is often reconed far up in the hundreds of thousands. that cornea out of Ia-hva- sea-fow- Actual Count Made. As a matter ol' more accurate fact, tliero are quite probably no more than 35,000 that migrate annually An net uni count made to Utah. some years ago on Hat island by Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Treganza and party revealed approximately 10,000 pills at tho daily homecoming at An estimate by these twilight. same authorities, fairly corroborated by others, is that twice as many gulls sojourn in summer on Gunnison island, north of the cutoff, and that about 5,000 more build their nests and summer homos on Egg, White Rock and other islands in the lake. Small though this number may the seem to be, ns representing average and perhaps tho capacity pill population of the islands in Utahs saline sen, it is nevertheless valuable aggregation nn enormously when appraised fit the legal estimate of $50 apiece, making a grand total Such n valuation, of $1,750,000. however, on close eximntion of the service the pill renders seems to be a modest onp after all; and the erection of a magnificent monument l in Salt Luke, for to tho sea-gul- service rendered, costing already more than $1 npicce per bird, could d idoless bo justified by economic fncts alone, aside from tno really grateful renetuntiiig sentiment of service of n membrance to the Utah pioneers. . life-savin- Services Performed Well. the first red streaks of the Wastneh daw'n until the lake waves cease to glisten with the sunset glow the gulls are unceasingly active, gleaning tho countryside for refuse, garbage, decaying flesh and live rodents, insects, worms ami larvae. It is a mean ami unattractive service indeed, yet so splendid, so altogether lovely, and so nltroistic withal, oml so faithfully and assiduously is it performed that there is appropriately reflected in the physical exterior of the gall tho most unusnll aspects of grnco, beauty and purity. Few fowls or birtls however fastidious or prettily colored nnd feathered, are From j so pearly iridescence, and artistic on the wing, nor so perfect in form and figure a.-- the It is a Jierfeet reflecgull. tion of a jierfeet service. In Nesting in abject humbleness he desert sands of the islands in the lake, with but a shallow dent, i nd a more wisp of straw or weed stems to mark the plane, from three to five eggs are deposited in a businesslike mnnner in early May. This indifieution, however, does not interfere greatly wnh tho gullt scavenger service, for the eggs arc 'bated by liolh tho male and fe male of the species, each taking a turn, sheltering the eggs by day from Jte hot sun, and by night from the cold nnd at all times, except when disturbed, from stormy weather and other harm. so rich in graceful Many Eggs Pall To Hatch. Carrion on the deserts, where win sheep arid cattlo have perished, is to a certain extent cleared up by the gulls, and garbage near all the towns within dumps the rndius of flight ure gleaned and even the farmsteads arc scoured matter that might form food the pills. Th0 vicinity of thp shores of lake offers littlo food for tho gulls except among the nearer settlements around tho southern portion, hence find gulls only a few thousand scavenging profitable so near the Thus the brooding gull rookeries. tireless may riilo her strong and wings from sixty to eighty miles nwny each morning, spend most of the day in the fields, and return nit night punctually for the snko of her eggs. Not all the eggs hatch, by nny means, for so busy n brooder cannot guard npiinst nil egg enemies, particularly tho cold spells of spring, n.n when insatiable nppetito is stronger than the instinct of maMrs. Treganza, a loving ternity. student of tho gulls for many years, places th0 increase from tho seasons hatching at loss than one gull per Even this st, on the average. figure (recounts for more than 25,000 young gulls that burst out of their confining shells in n fortnight and are soon going about tho island in some independence. Having a high blood pressure and a vigorous body, tho grownup gull digests some foods in fifteen minutes, according to an authority, and the most difficult of) substances will be dissolved and assimilated in forty-fivminutes. Rushing back to the island with n well filled stomach, (he mother bird tho regurgitates stomach 's contents before hor young, who greedily devour the portly digested diet. e Clean-u- p After Pelicans, The pelican, which migrates from the Gulf of Mexico and from the nooks in the Pacific, coast lino in thousands, to enjoy fho namany tural sanctuary at nesting time in Grent Salt Lake, gathers considerable quantities of fish from tho fresh wntor streams of the state to feed Tho content of its flsh-inits young. pouch, after being conveyed to the littlo less capacious stomach, are among the littlo peliregurgitated cans at the rookeries, oftentimes in excess of the inimedinte nood of g September, presuiuub uml.i ; up a lost or destroyed clutch of eggs and a resulting brood of Thus frequently tho gull fledglings. a a sanitary on plies its profos-io- n his home on island, and cleans ginocr For up carefully after tne jslicu s. this he has been accused of pilfering; but those who have noted the filth incus of F.gg island, whoTe pelicans the hours of Thereafter young. diurnal migration schedules are less the will especially precise, and liiiiimn race, bo found flocking home fledglings, as ill the young of the the late hours of the night. Ordinarily only the old birds to the islands from the ocean nf'or year, the egotistic of the young usually leading ' hem These night habits elsewhere. though luive been noticed early in the season, at times in some flocks of Utah gulls, unit thus it is presumed some of the young must return at times, for they do not lay eggs nor hatch during the first two or three years and need not keep guar ami exemplary hours. n and herons predominate, without the efficient of the service original will i,ot hold this white wings, habit of hooking agninst the gull. As the graceful gull stands mar the one extreme of beauty in bird life, so the naked, paunrh like young pelican, which may he as large ns a lamb, weighs down the bulnnee nt Hunt Young Rabbits. the other extreme of urigiun lines-- , and gracelessness. Even when grown, The gull has web feet, without the pelican is accused of blundering important talons, nnd while it has ,n stupidity, though it certainly is a - peg. fighting beak, and will defend sh re well fisherfoul. lf- nest or young against intruders vehemently, it is n Ior fighter unPelican Is Fishermens Pest. provoked, nnd it is only a fair catchNow it so happens that the prer er of rodents in the fields. Neverious spawns of black bass along the theless field rodents and ground fin fresh water shores of Utah lake fall squirrels oeensionnlly fall1) q$ey After the gull, we are told. With an easy prey to Mrs. leliean. the bass its reenmtp sense of the present of a mothers hatching rest nf young rabbits, the gull is schools of fingerlings for many days, hovering above them for protection. said to be a voracious devourer of The mother tolls them to the patchrabbit rarebits. es of water bugs and thy minnows Undoubtedly the gull aids in keepmake merry, gulping the ing the hordes of rabbits as small A when swish, as they are. feet first, young fruit orlUthitinlti'ss-poueheskitns Iho chard north of the lake inclosed in rnlibit proof fence was destroyed pelican and screens up the bass by the scores. An actual count V' rabbits, that burrowed under the They ate the twigs, then reported by the state game authori- fence. ties was 173 fish found in the pouch (he branches, nml ns the severity of wi tiler progressed, devoured the sapof ono pelican. And whoa the sportsment of Utah ling boles, and then dug for the One gull in one visit at the learned that the seagull regards nuvs. the pelican personal eggs ns a rare right time could have devoured all these gportrnen vociferated 'he rabbits concerned with this ordelicacy, One deft jab of tire chard, if what an observer relates their delight. gulls, blunt beak opens the pelican is true of gulls generally, in huntegg, so the Treganzns relate, and a ing for the hutches of young rabwido, tweezer-likclasp of the egg, bits. by which the savory morsel is liftFeast on Field Mice. ed high in the air, permits the eon tent of the shell to drain directly Field mice in season are dnily diet into the throat of tho gull. for many, if not most, gulls, the frightened gulls gobbling up tho Heavy Penalty Provided. mice from the fields with great facilIf 35,000 gulls get a mouse If one pleican egg hatches out one ity. mouse tdeiean, which takes 173 tiny bass apiece a dny. the at a journey, one seagull that eats plagues could not occur within such Indeed they do not oc said pelican egg is n benefactor, a region. argued Robert H. Siddoway, former ear in Utah, except in very Tare state game commissioner. Having years over the isolated seen the pleican depleting the bass, sections, and hence we must assume hat they are averted nt least in he wrote the present Utah law which provides a maximum penalty of $299 part by the effective work of the Intentional gulls. for killing a, seagull. Not so many years ago mice apbut not malicious killing is punishable by a $10 fine, though tho usual peared in Iho agricultural valleys of basic assessment is considered $25 eastern Nevada, seriously endangerfor each offenso. ing tho grain nnd alfalfa crops, when, ko th( divine messengers they seem Tho alleged stupidly of the pelican, however, is not so object ns to be, the gulls from Great Balt might be supposed, in all circum- l.nke appeared by fast aviation serIn a few days of hilarious stances, as many a visitor to the vice. island can attest. The pelican stands gluttony tho gulls got rid of every his mouse in the district. sentinel in solid lines nlxuit fiieds, thp ngninst precious egg Clean Lake Beaches. everogg-huiigregull. aggressive And while, according to observers, Tire lake benches and resorts are this vigilance seldom censes, and is senvongered by the gulls, faithfully quite effective while it lusts, there and the waters kept clean or reis ample testimony nnd evidence that all fuse and decaying flotsam of the increase in the pelican popula- kinds. The California state health tion is considerably retar led, both authorities, after observing the gull bv the sucking of the pelican eggs clean refuse from the benches, rated and by the destruction of numerous ten gulls as equal to one pig for pelican young by the ghoulish gulls. consuming refuse. The hundred of earth worms, Young Go Elsewhere. grabs, larvae, insect egg nests and the islands are us- fin like which each gull gleans from By of devoid gulls in tho day- 'he land, following the plow or other-vise- , ually tends grently to reduce the time, though some have been found number of crop pests in the grain fields nnd orchnrds of the state. ia The feasts of the gulls a a To on greatest nnd locusts grasshoppers, tj crickets, ns these inseets abound iI in n dry climate lof modW natively m erately long, warm summers. But m control of these deam 'V" the gull, could be had only at m vastating pests Poisoned bran in m great expense. these days tnkes a heavy toll of hoppers; but the United States bureau of biological survey officers until 34 grasshoppers in the stomach of a gull at one rime, and every observer has seen the gull get grasshoppers galore. Estimating the lime required for digesting its food, this large number of grasshoppers ml been eaten within a half hour. Httfnvt-swimmer- wide-jawed- s , i SPELL IT mid-Augu- Continue To Eat. U BOAST and help THE PAYSON COMMERCIAL CLUB Build up Payson fkaiiiiiiBiisixiasazBGaiiasaBaauiiaiBiiiiiaaiiuiiii ( of prices on foodstuffs is usually noticeable first at Skaggs stores. Nothing pleases us more than to mark oui prices down in sympathy with a DECLINING MARKET. Because of our conceited bijingfor many stores and markets, w e receive big trade discounts, et each individual store is never stocked heavily with a declining product. WE GIVE TIIE PUBLIC THE BENEFIT OF THE MARKET DECLINES INSTANTLY A Few GuU'.xviU continue to devour grasshoppers a? long ns they aro available, even reffBrgitnting them at tne fresh water drinking places, nnd then regorging again, probably planning o return later tor the regurgitations. Ciinsshopper scourges have oecured locally nmnv tine's in. Utah, under vniving wenther conditions affecting the hatching of the eggs and the production of food generally in their habitats; n.nd nt such times the crops disappear ns if before a flame. On the pampas or plains near Buthe enos Aires. South America, plagues of grasshoppers are very And when these serious nt times. occur, the people watch and pray for the flocks of gulls to come, and they usually do come from the neareT coasts, nnd devour tne devouring hosts. Cricket hordes, covering several densely occupied square miles of territory ns they advance, have in time past actually impeded train pro M ns their bodies were crushed M gross N on the rails; and tnev have conM sumed in their everything living An observer authority, pathway. a gull will devour nt H estimates that one meal a minmum of fifty of the of Our Hard Wheat lldaho Flour $1.85 2 4 4 IT) Backs Hard Wheat Idaho $3X0 nigh Patent llour 1 4.8 If) Buck Best Payson Flour $1X5 2 4S lb Backs Best Payson Flour $3.25 1 4S IT) Back Best Springville Flour $1.65 2 48 tb Backs Best Springville Flour $3.25 1- lb Back -4S High Patent Sack Geimnde 49c IT) Back Eastern Meal 39c IT) Back Peacock Rolled 59c Oats 55c 9 IT) Back Graham Flour... 49c 55c 9 45e 9 Corn 65c 9 TT) Cheese & Cured Meats 35c Full Cream per lb 35c Full Cream in 51b Cheese 30c Cheese Lots js'r Tb Saving Prices 45c Eastern Sugar Cured Flour and Cereals Hams per lb 30c t5c Eastern Sugar Cured Breakfast Bacon per lb 28c 35c Fresh Balt Pork per lb....l9c Lard and Crisco 10 5 2 Net Weight Pure Snow White Lard $1.79 Tb Net Weight Pure Snow White I.ard 93c tb Net Weight Pure Snow Wliite I.ard - 40c Tb 9 Tb 6 lb 3 tb Fresh $2.05 $1.39 73c 25c Presh Crisco 1iesli Crisco lb Fresfi 1 Crisco V Crisco Karo & Maple Syrup $1.2510 lb Can White ICaro..79c $1.15 10 Tb Gan Dark Karo....75c 80c qt. Can Maple Syrup 49c $1.25 gal. Can Maple ...; 95c Syrup $2.40 Gal. Can Maple $1.89 Syrup 1 28c FRESH MEATS e inini"- BDRaii THE DOWN GRADE We will have some of the choicest cuts of goverment inspected meats, Saturday morning. Do your shopping early. PAYSON, UTAH and may blackish brown creatures, such not stop at one meal a day of terthese food. Though delicious rible cricket armies have numbered in the billions of crickets, the be gull population of Utah must with rapid credited making heavily inroads daily into such a host, and with a very great influence in rendering such visitations comparatively rare. The reeky mountain locusts which tne early wore so predatory in seventies, have also been reduced somewhere near the vanishing point Tne general route. l bv tho value of tho extermination economic realized of these pests is better when it is remembered that Utahs principal agricultural and horticultural sections in which the greatest damage is done, are within tho usual gull flight limits from their rookeries in the lake. The pioneer settlers in the Salt Lake valleys were the first to receive the cricket xisitations in their meager crops, and the first to see the greedy gulls gather up the cricLess than 2090 people ket hosts. were in the state nt thnt time, and only about 700 acres of winter wheat was coming up to a good prospect in Mav and June of the second season or 1848. This grain would probably represent a prospective yield of say bushels, and the entire crop was the Unquestionably endangered. gulls netted the praying pioneers at least a bushel of grain per gull by They renconsuming the crickets. dered a similar service on a larger area of grain in 1849, and still ai larger area in 1850, according to the historians. If as much can be said today of the control of tho crickets and similar insects that attack the grain fields ns it presumably is many times, the valuation of the gull for grasshopper, cricket and locust extinction is much more extensive than is usually supposed. Gulls presumably live to be nt feast 25 and possible 50 years old, thripgh, because of their feminine appearance, no one could actually inSeldom are quire about their age. the regains of a dead gull seen, though they are not cannibals. Numerous though they are on all the country s coasts, they seem never to become excessive anywhere. They ar0 protected by tho laws of nearly all states had by the national laws, the some states even prohibiting use of the wings as millinery. Where they go or what finally becomes of 'them, nn one seems to have Someone satisfactorily discovered. as a right reward for has suggciK-ldvaliant servieV to mankind, that the plump nnd prlctty gulls probably pass on to an nnnr.med existence without the common wAf death) 35,-00- sea-gul- 27,-00- 0 . VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS IN CHECK WRITING The fact thnt many are wont to write cheeks with no funds iM the banks, nnd, too, very few are in the proper way to write cheeks on their banking account, causes much grief both to thp depositor and banker, and for this reason there arc things to remember and which are timely about banks checks. AlNever write checks hastily. Fill in the ways show exact date. name of the person to whom the check is payable, rather than leaving h'" nk. Make sure your checks are written so that they will bn difficult to alter. Use only the name you have established at your bank for signing, Do not indorsing nnd depositing. a new or changed signature adopt for any reason without first notifying the bnuk in writing. , Having secured a certified chock ngainst your own account, do not destroy it or change it,, as it cannot be altered unless redeposited, when a new one may be drawn. Make no checks payable to Cash except those used in drawing money over the counter at the bank. All other cheeks should be made to an individual or company, To Order. Remember that a check To bearer may be cashed by anyone. Your carelessness in drawing a chock that results in loss by fraud may make you liable for such loss. Never overdraw your account, swap or cash checks for strangchecks ers. Always write checks in ink, using dark blue or black ink and a stub or easy flowing pen, so that the paper will soak up the liquid. Simple instructions, but they are ignored by hundreds of persons every pre-ferbl- y 'day- . High taxes and cnnstnnt ag for more pay and shorter hou having their effect rvn industri tivitv. rd if The process must he wo wish a return of stn conditions. Reasonable taxei pay and full efficiency should motto. The Basic Reason. what do you attribute vottr life, Uncle Mosef asked a newspaper interview of a colored, centenarian. J Roouz Ah was bon a long time the old gentleman replied. back, The American Legion Weekly. , To long A man may be the architect of his own fortunes, hut his wife-ithe s |