The Portland daily press., 1883-06-23
Sparrowcide.
Why General War Is Declared Upon the
British Bird.
philadelphia Press, ]

philadelphia Press,l
"The sparrow must CO." is the verdict de-
liyered after mature deliberaton by the
farmers, the gardeners and agriculturists in
general. "War on the sparrows," is the ju-
bilant cry of the small boy with the catapult,
the larger boy with the shotgun, and all male
humanity fond of exercising the biceps by
nuisance, pest, a fraud; he disturbs our
| sleep, eats our corn, spoils our fruit, at
tacks and kills our song-birds and is guilty
of every possible crime it is possible for bird
nature to commit-therefore away with the
| feathery vermin, let's exterminate him.
The denunciation is strong and yindictive
against the poor little English bird; the
crimes with which he is charged are of the
most serious description, and the belief in
his guilt almost universal. 1t is, indeed, diff
iicult to obtain any hearing in his defence.
| However, the sparrow is not unaceustomed
| to periodical outcries against his existence.
1t happens every ten years or so in England
and other countries of Europe, and war of
determination is made upon him; but the
| plucky little fellow manages to survive the
slaughter, nevertheless, and regularly works
his way into liberation if not into favor
again. In fact, the real crime of the spar
| row is his extraordinary prolihcness. The
| sexes pair yearly in the spring, and have
| eight or ten broods during the year, five to
seven youngsters in each brood. Were it
not for the periodical warfare it is possible
hat ha ot,.v, atsrl,t a
| increase of sparrows.
| The experiment of introducing the spar
| row into this country was first made by Mr..
| Deelois, who imported several dozens from
England into Portland, Maine, in 1858. The
| good character earned by the British strang-
| ers in New England induced the New York
| Central Park Commissioners to let loose
hundreds OF sparrows within the enclosures
| of the park. The bird maintained the ex-
| cellent reputation he had acquired in Maine
and the demand for spsTows became gener-
al throughout the country. By vote of the
municipal authorities under Mayor Fox, in
| 1869, it was resolved to introduce the spar
1 row into Fairmount Park and the public
| squares of this city. Every means was TAX
| en- to afford hearty welcome to the little
| fellow. Tiny houses were built in the tree
| tops and special ordinances were passed for
| his protection from missiles and traps at the
| hands of persons of immature and adult
| growth with mischievous tendencies The
| sparrow arrived. He p omptly set to work
| TO eat measuring worms and beget more
| sparrows In both acts he succeeded be-
| yond expectation. The trees bloomed fresh
| and green again; the sulphurous atmosphere
| which like cloud had hung over the city,
| owing to constant jnxtaposition of its inhab-
| itants with nauseating insects and worms,
| disappeared; the sparrow was regarded as
| the best thing ever out of Britain, except
| Washington's ancestor. P;eans were sung
IN eis spEIslse newspaper EDITORS wrote emu
poet became the sparrow bafd, ana spa.a
found guilty OF dining on one of the feath
cred oenefactors was Immediately lynched
aniiu Inc warn piaudits of the community
THE SPARROW IN DISGRACE.
Then an envious deteactor of merit made
discovery Squirrels Used to disport their
nuiiy talls and graceful gambos amid the
leafy boughs of the public squares prior To
the advent of the sparrow; but the birds At.
tackled the furry animals with fairy. Dozens
OF them would encircle squirrel and liter
ally peck 1t to death. By degrees the berry
eaters were exterminated by their Ec,sns -
vouring foes, and anger vas gassi;nc soo,, .Vwaru
wsv r. sssrration at the little fellow 6Inc
--vsftes his services in killing the Caterpillar
were too fresh to allow him to remain lone
in dlsfavor. Then the SPARE set himself
seriously down to commit.S the crime of
which he is really guilty. He began to null
tiply enormously. Nov. thirteen wears after
his advent in the city from the London
parks, accompanied by few score of his
relatives, he hasLmillions of descendants.
Inc country atound is alive with his
chatter~a behaved birds of other
his presence, regarding
low cockney. The nightin-
ed the groves of Bryn Mawr
having found it impossible to
song amid such a continuous
IS % sparrow notec,-ff1o WITCH, tho
finch, the blackbird and the robin have flown
away in terror before the doughty beak
strokes of the bird whose progenitors fol-
lowed the flight of arrows Of the British
archers at Crecy; the sweetest of the min
strels Of Pennsylvania have been driven
away by the most unpleasant voiced birds in
all ornithology. At present enmity has been
aroused in real earnest against the sparrow.
Every effort will be made to destroy him, or
at least, to lessen his numbers, until the
measuring worm again becomes one of us,
and then the virtues of the sparrow will be
remembered, and the curse that is now upon
him lifted. He may again become a wei
come guest in our trees. Perhapss adversity
may teach him to refrain somewhat from
marriage, or, at least, have some considera-
ton in regard to the number of his off
spring.