228 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Native Birds," in a manner similar to that outlined by us in our 

 address before this appreciative assemblage one year ago. Also, 

 we published the following method of poisoning such obnoxious 

 birds as the English sparrow: 



A. "Poisoned \Yheat for Seed-eating Mammals and Birds: It is 

 often desired to poison certain destructive seed-eating animals, such 

 as rats, mice, muskrats, gophers and woodchucks, as well as English 

 sparrows. The difficulty of poisoning th.ese mammals and birds is 

 well known to those who have tried it, as the poison renders the 

 food distasteful to such an extent that it is not generally eaten in 

 sufficient quantity to cause death. This difficulty can be overcome 

 and success can be obtained by first poisoning grains of wheat, 

 then sugar-coating them. To do this dissolve about one-fourth of 

 an ounce (or eight grams) of strychnine in one-fourth of a pint of 

 boiling vinegar, then add water enough to make one pint. Pour 

 this over three or four pounds of wheat and let it soak one day (24 

 hours), stirring occasionally. Next, spread the wheat in the sun 

 or by a fire and let it dry. When dry, add one pound of coarse 

 sugar to one pint of hot water and boil it down to one-half pint. 

 Stir well and add about ten drops or one-fourth teaspoonful of anise 

 oil. Stir and pour the hot mixture over the dry wheat, stirring 

 thoroughly until cold and all wheat is covered. This is now dan- 

 gerously poisoned sugar-coated wheat, which has its legitimate 

 uses, but will kill anything that eats it, whether given by intent or 

 accident. For this reason it should at once be labelled and always 

 handled with care. To use it for rodents, bury a small quantity — 

 from a few grains to one-half teaspoonful — just beneath the surface 

 of the soil near the burrow of the animal. Having been buried, 

 it will not be found by fowls or seed-eating birds, but the rodents 

 will readily smell the anise oil and dig it up. In using this bait to 

 kill English sparrows, place it in vessels on roofs and at other places 

 where domestic fowls can not find it." 



In the third of those press circulars we discussed "The Birds of 

 the Winter Time," making the following statements that are ap- 

 j)ropriate just at this season and intended to direct attention 

 toward the efficient services rendered by these faithful but too often 

 neglected allies: 



B. "The Birds of the Winter Time. 



"Certain small birds that remain with us during the winter time 

 are of very great value, although their economic effects are not 

 generally known. Those birds are very beneficial for their destruc- 

 tion of both weed seeds and insects. Some, like the sparrows and 

 horned larks, feed during the winter upon seeds alone, most of 

 which are the seeds of weeds that are more or less obnoxious; 



