Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-10-21
WINGED PESTS.
what the Government is Doing tt Elk
terminate English SparrOws.

what the Government is Doing to Ex-
terminate English SparrOws.
Washington, Get. 1.-THE material is
largely In hand In the o.ganized divl-
sion of economic ORTHODOXY OF the
department OF agriculture for a series
of bulletins upon the relations OF several
species of birds in this country to agri-
c%niture. The evidence. collected will
have q strong tendency in some cases to
upset widely prevalent notions respect
ing the habits and values of certain
birds, in Others to lead organized effort
for the mitigation or extinction OF
pests which threaten destruction
to valuable branches of agriculture.
In the latter category DIR. O. II. Mer-
RAM, head of the division, places Eng
lish sparrows as chief. This bird was
imported with a flourish of praise some
years ago as an agent for the protection
OF shade trees from the ravages of cat
terpillars, inohworms and other creeping
thing, and has go multiplied and devel-
oped among its new surroundings as to.
become q vastly greater scourge than
the one it was expected TO coEnteract.
Its present rate of increase is enormous,
and the new territory which it involves
is estimated at more than $780, 900
square miles annually. 1t is essentially
q town bird, Nesting almost exclusively
about and upon projections of buildings,
but it takes long vacations
during the fruit growing seasons
and wreaks its f%astidious ap-
petite upon the largest and j~uioiest of
grapes and the dantiest of tree fruits.
In which work of destruction it's aggre-
gate of damages is almost incompatible.
How best to prevent further increase
and curtail its ravaging propensities is
an unsolved problem. 1t may be shot
CT poisoned, or it may be despoiled OF
its nest, but neither plans promise per-
manent relief. The estimated annual
loss to rice planters from the depreGa-
tions of this bird is between three and
four million dollars. DIR. Merriam re.
Gently spent some time in the rice fields
of South Carolina for the purpose OF
studying the habits of the bird and of
experimenting with a view of preventing
it's depredations. He found the planters
making their usual heroic efforts, and
with partial success, to ave their crops.
For illustration, a field of 200 acres
required the employment OF more than
fifty men and boys, their duty being
for some hours morning and evening to
create such q hubbnb with guns and
other noise producing implements as
would prevent the birds from settling
upon this particular field and scare them
over to those of their neighbors. when a
similar din was in process for a like
purpose. DIR. Merriam thinks that q
single hawk, trained as were the falcons
with which the sportsmen of the middle
ages amused themselves, would be q
protection to q rice field. 1t is prob
able that an experiment in this direction
will be tried if a person of sufficient
experience in the training Of BIRDS can be
found to undertake il. With regard to
our Indigenous birds of prey-hawks
and owls-for the killing of which
Pennsylvania and perhaps other states
pay a premium, DR.. Merriam says ornl-
biologists are convinced that their
services are Of great value 10 farmers.
Not more than three out OF upwards of
thirty of the species prey upon domes-
tic fowls, and even these more than
~remunerate the farmers by killing field
mice,