The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-04-30

to bitter opposition to their feathered
and unwelcome tenants. Many methods
have been tried to rid the country of this
nuisance, but the only thing noticeable
about the birds is their appalling in
crease.
His Advent Into America.
1t is interesting to note that the very
people who are now engaged in making
war against the sparrow are the people
who imported it, or are. more properly
speaking, the successors of the people who
imported it. as the bird was first in
troduced into Boston by the city council
men of the city who imported twenty of
| them from Germany. The original order
was for 200 but $50 died on the voyage
over and only twenty arrived in Boston
in healthy state in June, 1868.
The intention OF the city government at
that time<was to rid the city OF the insects
that infested the trees and all the vegeta-
ton in the city. They succeeded in their
| efforts, but incidentally every song bird
was driven from the public parks into the
surrounding country and the sparrow es-
| tablished itself supreme in the city. 1t
has held 1t sway unremittingly ever since
and has even gone into the country in
search of something to fight.
The first sparrows were brought to this
country in 1858 by man named Deblois
| Six pairs of them were liberated in that
! year near Portland. Me-. and for a long
| time nothing was heard of them. Then in
| 1871 large colony appeared in the vcini-
| ty of Rockland, Me, and commenced an
| aggressive campaign against every living
thing. Hundreds of beautiful birds were
driven from the pine woods of Maine to
| seek more comfortable quarters farther
| south In 1864 the Park Commissioners of
| New York liberated seventeen birds In
Central Park and in 1869 similar number
| were turned loose in Philadelphia Early
in President Grants second term someone
sent him basket of the birds and he
turned them loose in the grounds sur
rounding the Executive Mansion.
In 1873 another lot was liberated In New
| York by Eugene Schieffelin near Madison
Square. In this manner the birds were
thoroughly distributed throughout the
| Middle and New England States and they
| Immediately started on a career of devas-
tation. At the present time the birds have
complete control of every city in the
United States and have completely sup
planted the beautiful song birds that for
merly abounded in the trees of our cities
Their enmity toward their brothers on the
wing cannot be traced by naturalists OF
ornithologists to any given source. They
are simply pugnacious because it is theiI
nature to be So
Always Were n Pest.
One of the ornithologists at the Smith
sonian was called upon to give his opinion
OF the English sparrow by Times re-
porter and he used the language quoted al
the beginning of this article.
1T all comes of people trying to solve
problems OF nature by unnatural means
he said. Everyone in Europe knew the
birds were pest before they were brought
to this country. They did destroy the in
sects. There is no doubt about that but
they also destroyed everything else within
reach.
Some of the most beautiful specimens
Of our native song birds are becoming ex-
tinct on account of the sparrow. He Is
no good. never was any good, and never
will be any good and / believe he is here
to stay. They breed faster than you car
count and it seems impossible TO kill then
off. The people of Boston have only
themselves to thank for their present pre-
dicament as it was through that city's
government that the, birds were first giver
foothold in their midst. 1t is their city
and so is every other city in the East anG
almost all OF the country. similar ex-
pertinent to that of importing the sparrow
is Just now causing considerable interest
in scientific circles. The people of Jamai-
ca and the Hawaiian Islands were trou-
bied for long time with snakes and mice
The mongoose was imported into these
countries to rid the land of the pests. The
mongoose did 1t. 1t also cleared out sew