Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-21
LEW WALLACE's STORY.
HIS Method of Breaking Up n Black
bird ROOst.

bird Roost.
From the indianapolis Sentinel
Gen. Lew Wallace yesterday related an
ircideut which shows to remarkable ex
tent the wonderful sagacity and memory of
hlackbirds.
AT my home over in Charlottesville"
said the general. 1--WE have a large number
OF tall trees on the lawn. and in course of
time these trees became the roosting place
at certain times of the year for hundreds of
thousands of blackbirds. They came in
great black clouds, and in spite of all 1
could do, they refused to leave. OF course.
they We're great nuisance, and 1 was in
espair as to some means of getting clear
of them. l stood for days with my gun
firing into them of evening and killing
hundreds of them, but the rest did not
seem to be sufficiently struck by fear or
srief to want to part company with me and
my hospitality. 1 then devised a new
scheme.
Procuring number of Roman candles
one evening, l lighted them one by one at
ter dark. when the boughs of the trees
were bent low with the weight of the
Croaking birds, and poured the candle in
to the tops of the trees at a great rate
The sudden innovation startled the birds as
nothing had ever done before, and they be-
came panic stricken. That night 1 was
free of them.
The next evening, however. the habit of
fear and they began coming in by thou
sands as the evening approached. After
dark l began with another volley of can
dies. and the birds began to realize that
there was determined bombardment in
progress. They lied precipitately, and the
third evening only few returned. A few
last shots put them to flight, and l was
troubled no more.
But what do you think those birds did?
My dividing fence Iuns between the trees
on my property and the trees on the prop
erty of my neighbor, which are equally
high and equally suitable for home for
the blackbirds. When the birds were
driven from my lot they flew over across
the dividing fence to the trees of my neigh
Dor and settled. There was no lombard
ment over there, and they have stayed
there ever since.
This was a long time ago. but never
since the last Roman candle was fired into
them has one of those birds settled on one
of my trees. They are .tabooed' as effec-
TALLY as though they were on fire. The
great clouds of birds each morning and
evening fly directly over my trees, going
and coming, but not a bird settles upon
tree that is on my side of the dividing
fence.
Another strange thing is that II any one
of an evening stands in my lawn and
makes a slight noise,as slapping his hands.
there will be the widest commotion among
the birds in the neighboring trees They
become restless and almost panic stricken.
IT, however the same person crosses the
fence and stands directly under them ana
makes twice as much noise they pay no
attention whatever to him. He can even
shoot up into them without driving them
from their perches.
Il have wondered several times just what
impression those birds have of me and my
property that they have so decidedly given
me the cold shoulder. They know every
tree that is on my lawn, and will settle by
thousands on the other side of the fence
within a few feet of the dividing line. Of
course. l have not bothered them over
there, as they were not my guests"