Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-03-08
9l8anorla6a5&tte.
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1877.

The SpARRoW's FoE.-Thc shrike, or
butcher bird, u Is certainly making extensive
ioroads iu the countless focks of European
sparrows that fiIl our American cities with the
only bird twittering they ever heard 10 winter.
A Hartford Times writer says
THE shrike seems to possess. alone. of all
| birds, the strange propensity to kill wantonly
| and not for purposes Of food, and to impale his
| victims on the bare thUrns Of certain trees. lie
, does not cooinc his destructive attacks TO any
| one kind Of bird, but kills indiscrimiuately
variety Of small birds aud large bectles as we'll
as other insects, and even mice and frogs--im.
paling all Of them on the thorns and there leav-
| ing them. In the winter time he moves down
from Canada and other northern regions to
Connecticut, Southern New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Maryland Finding, now, in
every one of our cili.s and large towns great
aud growing COMMUNITY of the chatterpg brown
European sparrows, the shrlke IS at once 10
clover"
An incident showing the le:ocitg of the
butcher bird is described by another exchange
as follows: "A gentleman saw one Of these
creatures take sparrow, impalc him on the
sharp tWlg OF tree, and then peck at him,
seemingly with almost Gendish delight. SeiziDg
a gun the man fired at the butcher bird and
clipped off one Of his legs. Undismsyed by
the report of the gun, and apparently tbiDking
that the sparrow had wounded him, the butch
er bird attacked the little fellow with redoubeG
fury, when the gentleman fired again and both
birds fell llfeless. as he supposed, on the snow,
but before he could put uD his gun the butcher
bird bad come to life, picked up the poor little
sparrow and futcred away
TURKISH TOoTIIBRUsHEs. -ln the Stanboul
drug bazaar between couple Of jars, one con-
tanning lcechcs, the other frogs, which are
much used by the natives as 4 cure for head
aches is tray containing pile of olive sticks
about ten inches long and half an inch !n diam
eter. ut one cod, for about a half an inch,
they arc split in ali directions, SO as TO form
This is the true Turkish toothbrush, and
Turk will use it as quickly aud dextcrously as
the 'hcathen Cbuec" does bis chop-stisks.
AS strict Turk is obliged not only 10 wash his
bead face, neck. ears and feet, but also his
teeth, at each of the five daily calls to prayer,
he very soon wears out his toothbrush, SO these
articles are generally sold in packets OF dozen.
The less particular Turks use ordinary Euro.
pcan toohbrushcs, but as even the most lax
among them look on the pig and all belonging
to him as vile and uuclcan, they would as soon
thiuk Of de6ng their mouths with Russian
bristIc toothbrush as of eating pork chop or
rasher Of bacon. The shopkecper, therefore,
swears by his head and the souls Of bis father
and mother that the hair Of which his tooth.
brushes arc made grew on tho back of the
camel, the COW or the horse. loDcc suggested
to an Eogish merchant that he should try to
induce some English brushmakcr to manu(ac
turc brushes cf all kinds OF somo vegetable
fiber, specially for Turkish use, but he was un-
charitable enough to reply that 10 was sure
that not one OF the shopkcepers Of Pera, GA.
ata or Stamboul would consent to sell them.
for it would partially deprive them Of one OF
their most iavorlc eujoymcutS-