The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-05-09
SLAIN BY STORMS.
5IYRIADS OF FSPARROWS KILLED
BY THE HURRICANES. z
Such Destruction Not Seen Since the
Great BliZzard-Sparrows as
Food Commodity - 8
Parasite on Man.
is no telling how many
millions of sparrows were de-

HERE is no telling how many
millions of sparrows were de-
; stroyed sbys the two recent
hurricanes, (which swept the
Atlantic seaboard. No such destrnc-
ton of bird life by storms has been
recorded since the great blizzard OF
March, 1888, when vast numbers OF
feathered victims were picked up in
New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere,
after the snow had melted. Reports
from. many States say that the havoc
among the sparrows caused by the
winds has been enormous. They have
perished by myriads.
Not the winds, however, but the
:ains accompanying them were re-
sponsible for the mischief. Atmo-
spheric disturbances often cause wide
spread disaster to sparrows. A cold
storm comes at night, after the birds
are assembled in large numbers at
their roosting places. They get wet.
Ordinarily their feathers, being an ex-
cellent non-conductor, keep them
warm. But when the p1umage is moist
and has lost its fuffness, it does not
nearly cover the animal. Feathers,
you see, are not put on all over bird.
They are arranged in lines and patches
here and there. If you Will examine
The body of a sparrow, separating the
plumes with your fingers, you will find
that it is actually more than bali
naked.
The wind blowing on the wet
feathers causes the water to evaporate
more rapidly. Consequently the bird
gets chilled and perishes. The cause
of its death is simply lowering of its
body temperature. Even in a human
being a lowering of a degree or two in
temperature IS quickly fatal. Thus
The sparrows, which cannot find shelter
are likely to succumb. Very likely
some of them will be found in the
morning futtering about on the
ground, still alive, but unable to fly.
Perhaps the sunshine revives them
later in the day. During the spring
which followed the famous blizzard
The scarcity of sparrows was generally
remarked. Following ont the notion
that it is an i'll wind which blows no.
body any good, many people make 8
practice of gathering the birds afte,
storms for the table.
Most people entertain prejudice
against eating sparrows. Having long
suspected that it was wasunreasonable, the
writer picked up half a dozen of the
birds in the grounds of the Smithson-
ian Institution on the morning after
the last hurricane. He had them
broiled for dinner, tasted the first one
with some hesitation, and ate them all
with great relish. In fact, they were
excellent. though each one made only
q mouthfulse 1t is not surprising to
learn fhst sparrows have been used fol-
fooSin Europe for centuries. They
are sold by poulterers in England at
shilling dozen, and are considered
delicacy. Immense numbers of them
are killed every autumn along the Del
aware, not far from Philadelphia, as
they are feeding on the seeds of reeds
IN the marshes.
The sparrows thus obtained are pre-
pared and sold as reed birds in the
restaurants. Further South they figure
as rice birds on eating house tables.
That many Of them are disposed OF in
the markets under these assumed
names there can be no doubt. When
they have been feeding in the grain
fields or in the wild rice marshes thei,
flesh is especially good. If caught
alive in the city their flavor can be
much improved by feeding them for
few days with oatmeal, cornmeal OF
wheat. They do not taste like reed
birds, but more like snipe. The meat
is decidedly gamey. 1t is said that
they make an admirable pot pie. Pos.
sibly canned sparrows may be a
1elicacy of the future, vying with
ortolans in the estimation Of the epi.
eurei
II the public could be educated to
,ust appreciation of the quality of the
sparrow as an edible, the multiplica-
tion of the species might be kept with
in bounds. To this latter object the
sportsmen are now contributing to
some extent, shooting the birds from
traps.
In 1880 the sparrow occupied onl,
about Is, 600 square miles of territory
in this country. Within the next five
years it spread over 4S5,000 square
miles in addition. At present it in.
tests the whole of the eastern half oi
the United States, and in the West il
is found wherever there are settle.
ments. The bird is parasite on man,
and nowhere in the world is it known
to thrive far away from the human
haunts. It has big brain and a high !
degree Of intelligence. Having been
associated with mankind throughout
times, it has developed ex-
cunning. The species is
fecund, one pair commonly
raising from twenty to thirty young in
/ season. Ii there were no deaths, the
progeny Of a single couple in ten years
would number 275, TIC, 69S.
The sparrow's worst enemy is the !
butcher bird, small shrike which
visits most Northern cities in winter.
It's peculiar nethod in capturing small
birds and mammals and impaling them
,n thorns or sometimes on the sharp
been described. Many little screech
OWLS, too, have taken up their resi-
lence in the towns, having learned to
o., an cnn>.rnrs Thaz ottanl. &horn