Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-06-30
sPARRoWs DEFEATED MAN.
Minneapolis Mans Discontinue at Al
Points

POINTS,
Minneapolis Journal.-Michael Bres-
lauer has new story about the
English sparrow. Since Mr.. .Breslauer
purchased a handsome residence aft
Douglas and Irving avenues, he has
been one of the best householders in
all Green's additions. Last season tht,
sparrows built nests in every available
nook about the caves, they sputterad
and scolded on his piazza roof and 10
make matters worse they came tor
blocks around about 4 a. M every day
tc whet their little bills on the croo,I
of a conductor pipe just over Mr..
Breslauer's bedroom window A
sparrow whetting his bill on con
ductor pipe sounds as if he wers
shaking pint of dry beans in a ten
gallon milk can.
Mr.. Breslauer first tried air guns,
He recruited and equipped an anti
sparrow league, but the boy marks
men found it lots easier to hit
window lights than sparrows and the
corps disbanded. Wheat boiled with
strychnine proved destructive for q
day but was abandoned because it
seemed really pitiful to see the birds
fiuttering helpless to the ground. so
the sparrows were tolerated throu gh
the season and Michael put in the
winter figuring.
By spring he had the problem most
happily solved. Last week an army Of
painters with long ladders descended
upon the place and put on brand
new coat O. paint. At every angle
of the caves where the conductor
spouts turned they erected bar
ricade of wire netting and Mr.. Bres-
lauer chuckled as he thought about the
sparrows' discontinue. Early next
morning, however, he had an evil
dream and awoke to the horrid reality
that it had come true. There was ne
same, old familiar rat-a-tat-tat on the
conductor spout. Hurriedly dressing
he fastened to his lawn and found
that a sman five-and-three-quarte
sparrow had push his way through tho
meshes of the wire and was working
his bill down to a needle point with
the dexterity of a barber stropping
lawn were black with chattering
birds applauding the operation.
However, Michael consoled himself
with the thought that the bird was a
little one and probably couldn't fno
his way out through the netting again
anyway. This remained inside a long
time and ali day the sparrows held
al IF no 4o1n h
wires. Finally they seemed to evolve
a plan and the smaller birds began to
squeeze in and out of the wire
screened nook while the bigger ones
stood on the side-lines and coached.
Gradually the mesh began to expand
under the pressure and bigger AMI
bigger sparrows began to take hand
in the game. They worked all day.
That night when Mr.. Breslauer
came home be thought he saw sus-
picion of straw behind the crook in
the conductor spout. Sure enough, the
next day revealed behind the wire a
nest as large as a bushel basket. Tt
had been made ridiculously large to-
emphasize the sparrows' victory AMI
the birds hau then gone to work on
every screened angle about the caves
AS the matter now stands, the
screened angles are most in demand
for nests, for ,ne netting was so well
put up that it defies clothes poles
and garden rakes and the nests are
perfectly safe from destruction. The
joke on Mr.. Breslauer is so palpable
that the sparrows can all see it even
i they are English, and they revile
him on sight in shockingly bad
sparrow talk