Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-05-27
HAS The SPARROW NO FRIENDS?
Evon Mory England. His Old Home Hos Declared
Against tho Assassin Of Cock Robin.


his wonderfully increasing families
year by year.
Poison has been tried. but II was
found that other birds and animals
were hurt more than the sparrow. who
Just winkcd and passed BY ON the other
side from the cnvcnomed morsei. State
governments have offered bountics for
dead spnrruwr. but this plan has not
worked well, for II has been found that
the average county official scarcely
knew an English sparrow uPaaser do
mcHtlcur) from hen hawk or a blue
jay and would pay the bounty for AL
most any bird that was brought 10 him.
Associations like the Audubon society
and the Humane society have opposed
the bounty laws on this account. ana
also because the system tended To pros
mote cruelty among children.
The agricultural department has
Hpnrrown' atomachr examined by ok
ports In various parts II the country
and ut All seasons ~ the year, II was
found from this careful and scientific
investigation that the birds caused un-
told damage to growing crops and 10
budding trees aud rhruga without nc-
complaining any compensatory good by
destroying insects, Then the eilct went
forth from Washington that tho spar
row must so. hut the method Of his cx-
ccution was not defined In q aatlafac-
tory way, and he ala not 20. He stayed
and IL sim here, growing up with the
country nj 4 tremendous rate,
Boston has lately been stirred M
against the sparrow. The American So
cltcty ~ BIRD Dcatroycra, whose head.
quarters are there. ana whose object
Il IL 10 bring back native song birds
which have been driven out by one
means or another. has taken up tho
cudrels against the slayer Of cock Rob
In, ana II carrying on lively crusade
against him. A petition thirty feet long
was presented 10 Mayor quincy asking
that steps be- taken 10 extorminate the
hated bird, ana the mayor went Into the
work with will. The method which
N being tried IN Boston 10 execute the
condemned criminals u 10 destroy his
nests and egFn. and the enemiea OF the
bird hope for great results from the
warfare. The Boston Indictment
against the sparrow includes his crimes
ngainst Cock Robin and other mild
hammered birds. whom he drives away
with his vicious and nagginF tactics, Ra
well A. his deatructiyenefa 10 trees and
ahruba ana his general course aA pub
lie nuisance,
Mr.. sparrow n as lively ana perth
nncious about New York as ever this
spring. md any bright day he can be
seen NJ his work of destruction on the
tender buds Of shruba and tr,es In the
parks.
Professor j. A. Allen, curator NJ the
department ~ vertebrate zoology IN
the Museum Of Natural History. declar-
Cd yesterday that the birds We're carry
INK on their dcpredations with the ut
most boldnoHF within Hifht 81 his win
dnwa right In Manhattan square. al
though the little outlaws ought 20 know
that he, In common with almost an or
nitholonirts. was their deadly enemy.
The pr0feaaor said that Mr. Teget-
meier who has condemned the birds In
England. was n hiFh authority on such
subjects. ana he could not see how the
mast cxtronie friends NJ the sparrow
could defend him longer after he had
been so swceplngly denounced on his
home ground.
In this country. said the Professor.
even q large majority ~ the members
OF the Audubon society looked upon the