Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-20

! sparrow suffer more from the stacks of thess
troublesome imps than other birds. The
| fnchcs, the wood thrush, the cherry bird. the
pee wee, the blue jay, our domesticsted pigeons
| and the yellow hammer, with its long bill, are
unable 70 resist the attacks Of this quarrelsome
English enemy. They have been noticed TAX
| Ing away the material from other birds when
| their nests are being 30 carefully built for the
| comfort Of their young.
TAKING POSSESSION OF NESTS.
gentleman from Cleveland, Ohio. testifies
| to the fact Of these feathered warriors having
driven mother hen and her little brood from
their meal by force Of numbers and persever-
| ance: This aggressive bird has even driven the
wood pecker from it's resting places. which il
| not accomplished by individual courage, but by
superiority Of numbers, giving him no rest
until ne seeks more peaceful quarters. After
the nests Of other birds built they often take
possession OF them and remodel them, using
feathers principally to make them warm and
comfortable and their hostities are continually
going on. making themselves obnoxious to the
| whole feathered tribe. In South Carolina q
gentleman denOunces them as an unmitiRated
nuisance, having driven away the native birds
he had been in the habit Of feeding in winter
They never fail to attack our birds when
nesting. and are usually victorious The little
wren occasionally escapes when she can find a
hole TOO small for the sparrow TO enter. Thespar-
rows are very clannish and help each other and
summon their companions to their rescue when
engaged In battle with our innocent native
BIRDS who are 30 peaceful that they generally
surrender to these warlike intruders. The
whiPpoorwiu and night hawk, a. we'll as other
birds have mentioned, have been driven away
from their accustomed haunts. In Bermuda
many beautiful birds have been expelled from the
island by the sparrows, although the little negro
children have been employed to destroy them
They will not even catch grasshoppers or any
other insect while they can get anything in the
nj Ivy dc nd -
the introduction Of sparrows we find our fields
and gardens have been overrun by insects, and
in many localities it Is impossible to raise cab
bage where the sparrows drive away our own
birds, indicating that our American birds are
much more industrious in DESTROYING the hurt
ful insects than this foreign curse.
SHOULD BE DRIVEN OUT
They threaten great evil and measures should
be taken at once to get rid Of them. It is said
that the sparrows in France destroy every year
10, 900, 900 bushels Of wheat. Eighty-two grains
of wheat were found in the craw Of one single
bird, and on account Of their great increase and
destruction sparrow hunters are regularly en-
ployed and price set upon them, the peasants
being obliged to bring to the cities a certain
number yearly. He is not only fighter but
thief, and makes dash at the mother bird
when making her trips to her nest, where little
ones are awaiting her return, with their hungry
mouths wide open to receive the food she is
CARRYING in her bill Thus the poor little
fedgings are robbed Of many a dainty meal
The noisy, dirty pests have been seen DESTROY
ing the little baby birds while in their downv
beds and their bills have been covered with
blood from numbering the old mother bird as
well "a her little ones. Something must be
done to this blood-thirsty wretch or we will
have no birds to sing to us at early morn and
rouse us from dream land to go forth to our
daily duties. and 1t will take possession Of the
whole Of our agricultural country, multiplying
so rapidly that our native birds will
all be destroyed. They have been known to 60
from place to place in grain cars and the
verdict against these invaders must be applica-
BILE to the whole country in order to destroy
them effectually. The general government
should take the sparrow trouble in hand and
pass stringent laws in regard to its destruction.
A gentleman from out west writes that one
fourth OF his wheat crop was eaten up by these
birds and where his wheat was fine it was
tangled and broken down in such q manner
that it was difficult task to harvest Il. Even
when the wheat WAS first forming their vandal-
ism began. Every year the evil increases and
all Of us-on this Atlantic side of the world
should unite in inaugurating policy to uproot
it.
SCRPRIsE IN ENGLAND.
The farmers in England were astonished that
the people Of our country should have been 50
foolish as to import this bird when for centu-
ries it has been looked upon in the old world as
great evil. Agricultural Canada has suffered
materially from their depredatlons the rigor of
the climate not affecting them in the least. and
they are increasing rapidly. In the last ten
years sparrows have made their appearance in
the large cities and towns of New England, also
In our middle and southern states and MANY of
the western states without assistance from man.
and they are gradually coming to our suburban
towns and small villages. In New York they
q froy, voado Il rod IL.
looked upon as delicacy. The male birds are
distinguished by the white feathers which en-
circle the neck and are not considered near 40
Palatable as the female bird. This energetic
bird has even attacked grapes when inclosed in
bags. Our native feathered friends visit us in
the spring. and the little favorite. robin red
breast, may be seen hopping around our yards
for awhile, but they are soon driven away to
more peaceful quarters. Every year we hear
great complaints from the farmer of the light
wheat crop-very little wheat and large
amount of straw.
No wonder there is deficiency of grain when
these marauders have been feasting on it, not
only eating it, but tapping its wings as it
alights on the wheat stalk, scattering the more
mature grains all over the ground often grasp
ing two heads to balance itself. Some Of our
kind-hearted people are building houses for
them, but this practice should be abandoned
RoBBING CHICKENS.
Thls wary. cunning and mischievous bird is
also great annoyance to the women Of our
country, many Of whom are earnestly working
to raise poultry for profit as well as for en-
pioyment and out-of door amusement These
birds are fond Of chicken food" and rob the
chicks of their meals. d.,shing upon their feed
pens by the dozen. Being SO domestic it is i'm
possible to shoe them off from the robbery of
the chickens food. Acres and acres of grain
fields in England have been so injured by the
depredations Of sparrows that they have not
been cut at all, and enormous sums of money
have been spent to lessen the number of these
rapidly multiplying thieves l have a letter
from the Department of Agriculture stating that
there is no doubt a. to the desirability Of the
determination of this bird. but the means for
accomplishing it have not been definitely settled.
The 1aranaki Herald, paper published in
New Zealand, states that these destructive birds
arc so numerous, beginning their work as soon
as the day dawns, that the farmers are obliged
to go over their fields constantly cracking a
whip to brighten them away from morning till
night or the sparrows would be upon them by
the thonsand and even with all this trouble
the grain Is almost destroyed and the only
profit to the farmer il the sale Of the straw to
the dairymen. Then let us be wide awake to
the importance Of resorting to every means to
get rid of this offensive and destructive i'm
portation.
The Author OF "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too"
from the Boston Herald.
A friapd eha ;cxo 81