The Buffalo _Evening News_ gives us the following from the city
forester of that city:
A war of extermination has been declared against the English
sparrow by the Department of Agriculture, which has just issued
a bulletin on the subject in which this busy, fighting bird
is outlawed as a pirate of the air. It is declared that he
studiously hunts and eats insects which are beneficial to plant
life, while he more or less passes over those which are harmful.
The only good thing he does is to eat the seed of weeds and
prevent their spread. Aside from that there is nothing to be
said in his favor.
More than that, he is murderous. He hunts the nesting-places and
destroys eggs and young bluebirds, house-wrens, tree-swallows
and barn-swallows. The robin, the catbird, and the mocking-bird
he attacks and drives out of parks and shade-trees. He has no
song, but he drives out the song-birds and brings only noise in
return.
After having learned all this about the sparrow after an
extensive investigation, the Department of Agriculture describes
various ways to destroy him.
City Forester Filer said yesterday he has not seen a copy of the
bulletin, but that he agrees with its conclusions. “There is a
good deal of justice in declaring the English sparrow a pirate,”
said Mr. Filer. “These birds were originally imported to New
York to get rid of an insect pest, the linden moth, which that
city was then fighting. The sparrow didn’t like these moths, and
he doesn’t like any caterpillar with fuzz on it, and he took to
the streets for his living. They spread and multiplied very fast.
“The robin is the only other bird we have in Buffalo in numbers
and the sparrows eat their eggs. In the parks we have a few
other varieties, but they are not numerous, and the sparrows are
not as plentiful in the parks as they are in the streets, where
they prefer to get their living.
“Most of the destructive moths, particularly the gipsy, tussock
and browntail, have hairy caterpillars, and the sparrows will
not eat them, so they are no good for that purpose.”
(2376)
=Placards=--See PICTURES, INFLUENCE OF.