Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-22
nco<oNl,1 OHNrcHOLOGY.
u;,inr TO slaughter Sparrows'
i,trs md i'eathered Mites

nTnTH f
T@ i.,t-e and t|eathered Mites.
s..,, he P5i7qdelpAta Press.
r-.s,rryGroN, Oct. 1.-THE material
49,. II, h4pd ia the ne WY organized
a. NJ economic oruithology OF the
,.,p,en, OF Agriculture for series OF
et'' ,,n,u The relations OF several
u'.,.,. s1ocics Of birds az this country
'D'D,r ma. The evidence collected
,rns>e siro0g tendency III Soms csses
"nsst widely prevalent hCtl"ns t"9 t r'cc.-
bYn,ts aud value ~ csr'aln DlIos
=. o,f,rs TO lead. TO organized ecnrts
b" J." ,n,tigatiun or extinction OF Peste
,r,4ateu destruction u ValhSblc
al0L of Agriculture. in the latter
''o.r Or. {. Il. Merriam, the heac al
'IeSG ,.t,to, ,,!aces tne English SPARROW
chief. ,-..a nth Snur,.h
natsa acme wears ago, as agent TOT the
ian;,ou a shade trees from Inc raw
snt outarUiIlars, inoh. " orms and otheF
nlanIng ihings, and mas so multiplied
nj developed among ite ne" oul Iounu'
"u as 10 become. DR.. Merriam thinks,
XIV ,,e6ter sCourge than the one IL was
Srooted to counterhUt. lts present rate
!Frrresse Ia enormous, and the new ter
-orc, y7ioh IT inyades is estimated at
ora man 1870, 600 square miles annually.
.Uosa.ntially town bird, nesting al
.,1xriusiyeIy about and upon the pro-
10Y o''or'e NJ buildings, bus u takes long
,~ations during the fruit growing sea
"esand w,aaks its iasGidious appetite
na1 rbe LARGEST and iuoiest OF grapes and
na Gatntiesg OF tree fruits, in wbion WORK
III obstruction its aggregate o. damages
. almost incompatible.
inGFAAEE
I'D cnr;an It's ravaging propensitles is
"n nnsolyed problem. IL may be snot or
rnisnnsd or it may be dss polled OF Its nest,
H. nait5eY piap promises permanent re-
B,d :, isA way aud suspicious orea-
m readily learning 70 avoid places
rhora any of its fellows have INST their
s,le while. as il N anticipation o. future
necessities 81 hRs. within a year or two,
kegun 10 study and practice the art oil
sost building 10 trees. IL rs as yeo the
IN st Iubbsrly OF Tiagsa archltects, car
fytDg great heaps o! unAssmllaoie rub
kishIO ito building place, where 1t makes
hue s1apeless structure upon the top
RI winch it sets up ousekeeping. Oft
.npr Than otherwise the first high wind
hrinRs the mass to the ground and works
toe destruction OF all its domestic al
arrangements,
The bobolins o. tAe North the rice ord
HI the South has been receiving much
selose attention from the ornlthoioslSt and
lis correspondents. This cheerful little
creature is found 10 be rather helpful to
! aAe Northern grain grower, an examina-
] #tlon OF its n aw disclosing the TACT that it
hoes not care for the growing grain, but
hives upon the seeds Of destructive weeds
land upon equally destructive field insects.
but it so times lis annual migration as
Sto pass three weeks In the rice fields OF The
sSouth at the season when that grain is in
/ Sthe milky state, and there its ravages are
! Enormous. The estimated annual ioss to
the rice planters IRON the depredations Of
this bird is between $4,000, 900 and "a, 0G0,-
e0O
DR.. Merriam recently spent some time
Il in the rice fields OF south Carolina for tbs
purpose of studying the habits of the Oiyd
And OF experimenting with q view to pre-
venting it's depredatong. He found tne
! Planters making heir usual heroic sfioTts,
BUD with their usual partial success to
pave their crops. For ILLUSTRATORS q feld
j Ct 200 acres reQDtFed she en- ploy ulent OF
mOre than thirty EeB and 6oys, their duty
being Tor some hours, taorning and eve 4.
Iiag, 10 create SDch q buhsCD ~itb guns
Iand other noiee-pT odnclng implon ents an
/ would prevent the oirdt from settling upon
stAis particular fed, aad scare them over
! ITO those o. their nsigh6ors WHARF SINH.
lar din was IN progress for a like pur.
pose.
DR.. Merriam caused numosr Of stuffed
4haWks with wings outspread 10 he sus.
#pended By strings from Ia polea, SO US to
sway with the breeze, over the fields.
his device proved safeguard for only
two or three days, ny which time the
0Obollnks nad mastered the trick and
hereafter they treated Inc dummies with
contempt. however, one day, while the
e1gles were still swinging, and after the
ROBBERS had again settled down 10 their
WORK, Or. Merriam noticed Il single live
nSWk, hlgn up, sailing over the flats. The
OoDoIlnks rose in great clouds and re-
NAMED IN the air until the peril was past,
Slthough The hawk apparently paid no
attention to them.
VI Merriam thinks that O single hawk.
rAine5 as were the falcons with which
tAe srof -s1lsE Of che middle ages amused
thelise!Fes, would be an effective protec-
lon 70 rice 15ld OF 2,0G0 acres. II is
pI"p~oIe thSt an experiment III this di-
leOliVH VIII De Eisd II o person of suffi-
olent experience IL the training Of birds
can be iound TO Undertake IL, With re-
saIu 70 our indigenous birds OF prev-tne
laws" H aud the owls--.0r tbs Killing Of
S Wn.cn fennsyiYanis and, perhaps, osher
/ - p"J pIeIlIum. III. NJ errlam saws
unltnologlsts are convinced that their
sgIElces are Of great value to farmers.
NJ nGt more than three out OF upwards of
.1lIty species prey upon domestic fowl.
enu even THESE more than remunerate the
sIluef Gy Killing field mice. The other
species I'VE entirelyupon field nice, grass
avd beetles and other yermin, which
are great destroyers OF grain.
cry" mas received considerable at
S ention rom the doctor and his CORE
a ,po"uents, but the evidence in hand IS
s sUt suhcient to warrant a verdict. So
s co., as II goes it creates Impressions in his
th"so ~, ne is corn thief, to be sure. but
WIS lP'ilerlngs may be guarded against.
I %mle' On the other hand, he DESTROYS some
aa nuue oi neld YarmiO IN great numbers. TO
lay IA! nothlng OF mis- work as a scavenger.
ic , N Galit is the Secretary of the Amer
,1eH NEUROLOGICAL Union. by whose SUI
t t. Commissioner Coiman was large.
new division. WI n Vi 'Ae
UNCLE