The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-05-27
EAT THE SPARRONS
Government Biologist Advises
Devouring the Pests.
NED DEARBoRN's BULLETIN
Agricultural Departments Experts A.
SO Will Recommend Skunk, Rattle
snake and Other Objection
able Creatures.
By GEORGE CLINTON.

w ooLlllS IOu VI Tic expert O1s
ologists of the department of agricul-
ture, Mr.. Ned Dearborn, says that the
English sparrow is pest thing
which hardly needed repetition, and
that one way to get rid of them is to
eat them. Mr.. Dearborn's front name
Is Ned and it is not nickname. 1t Is
his baptismal name and the books
that he has written are all ''by Ned
Dearborn" His name has appeared
In the newspapers N. E. D. Dearborn,
Edward Dearborn, Edwin Dearborn
and in various other ways, for no ono
seems to be able to realize that any
man could have such a baptismal cog
nOmen as Ned, but 50 1t is. IT.
Mr. Dearborn has issued bulletin
telling how to trap English sparrows,
how to shoot them and how to cook
and eat them. He says that sparrows
as food compare favorably with tho
best kinds of smaller game. Years
ago some one tried to induce the peo-
pie of the congested districts in the
cities to eat English sparrows. There
is no reason why they should not be
eaten for they are good food, but while
the jewellers Of the tenements who
had this food at their doorsteps re-
fused to avail themselves of it scores
of millionaires were paying reed bird
prices in the swell hotels for English
sparrows and while it was a deceit to
substitute the sparrow for the reed
bird, 1t was not in one sense any vio-
lation Of the pure food law.
Skunk Better Than Rabbit.
One can learn from the agricultural
department If the members should
choose to write about 1t or tell about
1t that there are scores Of animals
In the United States which no one
thinks Of eating and yet which are
perfectly delicious food when properly
cooked. Can anyone imagine a man
eating skunk? And yet a skunk
properly prepared is by no means to
be despised. It Is said that the edi.
billty Of the skunk was learned by an
experimenter who noticed that great
horned owls were very fond of skunks
and that they would catch them, kill
them and eat them in preference to
rabbit. So one experimental tried tho
skunk and found that the meat was
better than that of the rabbit
Years ago government expedition
was sent into the Death Valley to
make biological, botanical and geolog-
lcal researches. The members had
hard time Of it getting enough to eat.
They found in the Death Valley pc
culiarly repulsive looking creature
that looked like cross between a
ella monster and horned toad Il
looked like the last thing in the world
which anybody would like to cat, and
yet it's flesh was found to be perfectly
at perhaps when one of the govern
nlent scientists discovered that tho
creature lived entirely on the BIOS
SONS Of flowers, of course getting
some few insects with it's floral diet.
It was repulsive looking creature
with a most dainty appetite, and some
thing of the sweetness Of its food i'm
parted itself to its flesh.
A great many people know that the
muskrat is good eating. The govern
ment's scientists found this out long
time ago and they have written bulle-
tins about the muskrat as food. It has
been found that the name rat destroys
peoples appetites for this creature.
In the markets of Baltimore and &C.
casionally in Washington muskrats
are sold in large quantities, but are
they called muskrats? No, they are
called marsh rabbits.
The frog is not a delectable looking
creatures and yet of course as every
body knows 1t is eaten and enjoyed
by millions Of people. The turtle 10
not altogether beauty and yet it 10
eaten widely and one kind of turtle
today brings $50 dozen in the mar
ket and it is a small turtle at that, the
diamond backed terrapln. - -
Snakes Good to Eat. .....
Some men squirm at the thought Of
eating cells, while others eat them and
consider them the best of fish. II an
eel, why not snake? Down in the
southwest rattlesnakes have been
eaten frequently with no bad results.
The flesh of the RATHER is said to be
white and Of good favor. An army Of.
fcer who was also a great ornitholo-
gist, Captain Bendire, once was given
some rattlesnake to eat. He did not
know what it was but pronounced it
mighty good. Later he was told what
he had eaten and although in his
tramping aheld he had been compelled
many time to eat all kinds Of things,
the thought that he had eaten snake
was too much for him and nature re-.
voting, he parted with his breakfast.
A good many field scientists say
that it IL prejudice alone which pre-.
vents men from eating what they
might eat and perhaps in the interest
Of economy ought to eat There ID
vegetable matter which some people
regard as poisonous and against which
there is other prejudice and yet many
Of the wild vegetables of the field are
wholesome and II they were trans
planted to the garden could be raised
in quantities and be sold for good
prices in the market that Is, provided
the name could be changed and the
prejudice could be killed.
Sparrow Stole a Plume.
While standing on the corner OF FIT.