BIRDS THAT HARM AND BENEFIT THE FRUIT GROWER 109 



taken from sparrows collected in Europe, the United States and 

 Canada, during every month of the year shows that only 14 per cent 

 of the stomachs contained insect remains. Some even more striking 

 data has been given by Professor C. V. Riley, who examined 33 8 

 stomachs from sparrows taken in the city of Washington during a 

 season when four different species of insects (the Tussock moth, 

 Fall Web-worm, Bag-worm, and Elm-leaf beetle) were doing serioas 

 damage by defoliating the stand trees of that city. Only two speci- 

 mens of one of these species, the Fall Web-worm, were found m all 

 the stomachs examined, thus showing conclusively that the sparrow- 

 was doing nothing at all to control these pests. On the contrary by 

 displacing other insectivorous species, the sparrow was in part directly 

 responsible for the damage being done. From the 228 stomachs 

 examined, 47 contained harmful insects of other species, 50 contained 

 beneficial insects; and 31 contained insects of no economic value. 



Perhaps the most serious charge made against the English Spar- 

 row is that it displaces and drives away some of our most valuable 

 insectivorous birds. Such birds as Wrens, Chickadees, Bluebirds, 

 Purple Martins, and even Downy Woodpeckers and Flickers might 

 readily T5e induced to nest in our towns and orchards in considerable 

 numbers by providing suitable nest-boxes for them, were it not for 

 the fact that the sparrows promptly appropriate the boxes and drive 

 the other birds away. It is not surprising, then, that after an 

 extended and exhaustive study of the sparrow problem, the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture in concluding its report condemns the 

 sparrow in these words. "The English Sparrow is a curse of such 

 virulence that it ought to be systematically attacked and destroyed 



The complete extermination of the sparrow is an utterly hopeless 

 task, but its numbers may be greatly lessened locally on your own 

 premises. If during the severe cold weather, when the ground is 

 covered with snow, a small plot of ground is cleared and sprinkled 

 with wheat for a day or two, the sparrows of the whole neighborhood 

 will congregate there to feed. Then if a small feed of poisoned erain 

 is given to them, the whole flock will be destroyed in an hour or two. 

 A year ago this winter the writer tried this plan to rid himself of a 

 fock of sparrows that congregated to feed in his chicken yard. A 

 tablespoonful of poisoned wheat settled the problem for the remainder 

 of the winter. About 80 dead sparrows were picked up an hour or so 

 after the grain had been placed out for them, and those that were 

 not killed gave the place such a bad reputation that it remained 

 almost entirely free from birds for months afterwards. 



Great care should be used in handling the poisoned grain, and 

 all that remains on the ground should be at once destroyed. The 

 best method for preparing grain for this purpose is as follows: Put 

 one-eighth ounce of strychnia sulphate into three-fourths of a gill 



