156 BIRD FRIENDS 



Hampshire, tliat the sparrows have been easily con- 

 trolled by shooting. During the first season a war- 

 fare was kept up with two guns for a number of 

 weeks till the sparrows that had not been shot left 

 town. About once a year a flock of from twenty to 

 thirty sparrows comes toMeriden from the surround- 

 ing villages, but these are quickly disposed of, or 

 driven away by a few days' shooting. 



Mr. E. H. Forbush reports that his farm has been 

 kept clear of sparrows for ten years by the practice 

 of shooting promptly the first one that appeared. 



Mr. Neil M. Ladd gives the following suggestions 



in the first annual report of the Greenwich Bird 



Protective Society: — 



Shooting accomplishes great results when done as 

 follows: Feed small grains from a small narrow trough 

 on the ground for several days until hundreds of sparrows 

 from the surrounding neighborhood flock to it the mo- 

 ment the food is put out. A shotgun so placed as to 

 sweep the length of the trough will kill dozens at each 

 shot. The gun can easily 'be secured in place and the 

 trigger released by a long string. 



In this connection the question has been raised 

 whether shooting would not drive away other birds. 

 But the records which the author has been able to 

 obtain, together with his own experience, indicate 

 that this fear is groundless. 



Poisoning the sparrows. During the winter spar- 

 rows may be poisoned if care is taken to see that no 

 other birds eat the poisoned food. In the Farmers' 



