SUMMER MEETING AT BUTLER. 105 



exterminated unless an end be put to this. The favorite native haunt 

 of this bird is in the great timber of the Missouri bottoms. 'Tis there 

 their enemies find them. Large trees are filled with traps and thou- 

 sands are caught. Of course this is in violation of the law. There is a 

 miserable, idle, vagabond, cunning class of people who do no earthly- 

 good the year long ; ignorant and slothful, they become half-civilized 

 and naturally imitate the barbarian in all their methods of making 

 enough to buy whisky and tobacco — their seeming sole earthly neces- 

 sities. They appear to have been born in their garments, which, 

 through long acquaintance with grease, have become unsusceptible ot 

 wear by friction and are everlasting. A wild hog (how they despise 

 stock laws), a fish or a biid supplies their meat, a hoe cake or even 

 parched corn answers for bread. But for their absolute need of whisky 

 and tobacco the birds might be safe. Between the eastern dealers and 

 these bird hunters are the middle men, as usual, who purchase the lit- 

 tle prisoners, their wings and feathers. Some means should be taken 

 to enforce the Jaw against these depredators. The number ot wings 

 and birds shipped east is very large. 



Some years ago some one introduced the English Sparrow into an 

 eastern city park for the purpose of killing off certain worms that in- 

 fested the trees there. It was soon noticed that they did not touch the 

 worms but were ever down on the streets, among the horses' feet, like 

 little chickens, and thence to the house tops. Very little was thought 

 about it, but occasionally one could sec a joke in the papers about the 

 worms and sparrows. As time passed, some seven years, it was 

 observed that the birds had spread over into the larger towns of the 

 Eastern States, thence into those of Ohio and Indiana. About seven 

 years ago they were abundantin Quincy, Ills. Two years latter they 

 were at St. Joseph and Kansas City. I remember of thinking 

 then, "it was fortunate that these miraculously increasing birds 

 confined themselves to towns and avoided the country." It was 

 said that they drove all other birds away. Five years ago in 

 some Central Ohio towns, whfere, on account of their beautiful 

 parks and walks and gardens, many song birds congregated, 

 I found these foreigners had monopolized every spot they 

 wished, and I missed the whilom songs of boyhood's days. Inquiry- 

 elicited the fact that these little birds had driven the others off. Two 

 years ago, the first pair ever observed in' Holt county, so far as I can 

 learn, came to some of the railway stations, the broad overhanging 

 roofs of these buildings favoring them, and perhaps the telegraph wires 

 directing them. In the spring of '84 they were seen in our court house 

 park, a place well set out in varieties of forest trees. The roof of the 



