Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-12-23
THE CHIEF OF BIRD PESTS.
English Sparrows as Destroyers, Courageous,
Hardy. and Prolific Creatures.

Hardy. and Prolific Creatures.
New York Tribune.
"For downright pluck and perseverance
give me the English sparrow; he's hard
one to beat"
These were the words OF one of those
peripatetic guardians of the lava Cen
trail park policeman. The man has been
member of the force for several years
and in assiduous pursuit of his calling
has walked many miles through the by
ways and highways of the park, discours-
ing in his own mind upon the merits and
dement's of these little foreigners.
Now, where do suppose that chap is
going TO spend the winter!" he said to a
young man who had found him standing,
legs apart and arms akimbo, leisurely OBJ
serving the toilet of a brown backed,
black breasted sparrow of the gentle sex,
which perched on swinging limb of a
middle-aged elm, combing its feathers
with its tail.
Somewhere in the south, reckon,
said the person addressed.
"Nawp,' saia the philosopher, don't
migrate"
Don't migrate? Well, in box in
SOME tree in the parky'
'Nawp, boxes all gone-rotted or taken
down. I'll tell you where the pe-wee will
bunk this winter; he'll stay right around
here, in these trees, and what time he
fyin' about huntin' for something to eat
he'll be roostin' on limb all pmffed up as
he is now"
81 should think it woGl9 freeze to
death"
$50 they do, sometimes. Many a win
ter morning after an unusually cold night
I've seen the ground covered with their
frozen bodies, frozen hard. PityY Not
much. If we couldn't get rid of some of
,em by freezin' they'd take the town in a
year or two. They're the biggest nuisance
in New York"
And yet yeu admire their pluck? ?" was
asked.
$50 | do; so ! do. 1 admire pluck
wherever | see it, and you've got bushels
of it in these sparrows. When a few OF
EN- first came over here we fixed up for
'em IN style, built boxes for em ard fed
'em; but they never would use the boxes
they'd rather look out for themselves,
whiah they've always done since I've
known anything about 'em. L haven't
the heart to kill one of 'eH1, n0twithstand-
ing ahey're such a nuisance"
What do they feed ON"
Crumbs mostly. SO longs there's
babies in New York so long will there be
sparrows; somehow they seem to go to.
gether. You'll see babies come ,toddling
through the pack or riding in their car
riageg a-lnunckan' of crackers and cakes
and carts and all that end scattering
crumbs behind 'em. Sparrows, always on
the lockout, gathaer up the ccumbs,as soon
as they get a chance. Then, like most
other birds, tkey like worms and bugs
and flies such as thsy can find in the grass
or weeds or on Che bark of the trees"
FlocLs of sparrows are still to be seen
in the smaller parks of the city. In
Madison square there is an old weeping
willow tree in whose decayed top, all full
of holes a few of the birds seek refuge.
Others find comfortable quarters under
the bronze coar-tails Of WiliGam II. Sc
ward or beneath the chair in which he sits
day and night. Still others make their
homes under the caves Of the little house
near the center of the square. During
the day keep an eye 90 the Poddlers
catching every crumb that fai&s from
toothless gums.
Determined war has beer waged against
English spxrrows in this state, but in
Pennsylvania, and perhaps two or three
other states, bounties are paid for their
heads so much hundred. Boys made
ample pocket change for time by the
use of rubber sings aud blow guns, but
boy-like, they soon grew tired of the
sport of Wholesale murder OF the little
birds, and the sparrcws, left to them
selves, continued to increase with remark
able rapidity. Statistics on this point
are interesting. the newly organized
division of economic ernithology of the
department CT agriculture is preparing
series of bulletins upon the relations of
several common species of birds in this
country to agriculture
Among the bird pests which threaten
destruction to valuable branches of farm
ing, Dr. Merriman, the head of ths civis-
ion, places the English sparrow es chief.
This little creature has SO multiplied and
developed among its new surroundings as
to have become vastly greater scourage
than the caterpillars and worms it was ex-
pected to destroy. Its present rate OF
increase is enormous, and the new terri
tory which it invades is estimated at
more than 10000 square miles annually.
1t is essentially town bird, but 1T takes
long vacations in the fruit-growing sea
sons and "wr.aks its fastidious appetite"
upon the largest and juciest of grapes
and the dantiest of fruits, in which work
of destruction its aggregate of damages
is almost incompatible.
Perhaps DR.. Merriman VIII suggest some
means by which the government can con
troll these unruly foTejgn-born citizens.
1t has already been proposed that further
immigration be checked by the levying of
a poll-tax which England SHAH be Obliged
to pay.