178 



Bird- Lore 



To get this he had to lay down his worm, 

 which he did. Quick as a flash in jumped 

 the Sparrow and grabbed the worm. He 

 had a good deal of trouble in swallowing 

 it, but, after mastering the larva, once 

 more started to trail his larger country- 

 man. How long this unwilling partnership 

 was kept up I can't say, as a train had to 

 be taken to the city. Probably "unwilling" 

 is not the way to express this partnership, 

 as the Starling seemed not the least dis- 

 turbed by these repeated robberies. — 

 Henry Thurston, Floral Park, N. Y. 



A Solution of the English Sparrow 

 Problem 



Back on the farm in the good old 

 Hoosier State, my father taught us boys 

 early to discriminate between beneficial 

 and harmful birds and, armed with rubber 

 slings, we never lost an opportunity to 

 try our marksmanship on the latter. I 

 am sorry to say, however, that the line 

 between "good" and "bad" birds was 

 not always correctly drawn, for far too 

 many Red-headed Woodpeckers paid the 

 penalty of death for the few cherries they 

 came to steal. 



The list of condemned included the 

 English Sparrows, against whom we stood 

 as sworn enemies, granting no quarter 

 under any circumstances. As youngsters, 

 we tore down their nests in great glee, and 

 killed the young or broke the eggs with 

 much dispatch. Later, with the shot-gun 

 and rifle in our hands, the imported nui- 

 sance had no show. The few which learned 

 this sought other feeding-grounds, while 

 the unsuspecting new-comers fell easy 

 victims. 



For us, the Sparrow problem was re- 

 duced almost entirely to the early spring, 

 when two to five pairs came in search of 

 nesting-places. With the destruction of 

 these few pairs, the premises remained 

 practically free of the pest for the remain- 

 der of the year. Now and then a flock 

 would swoop down to feed, but departed 

 immediately upon the completion of their 

 meal, or, if they did not, one cr two loads 

 of shot sufficed to put them to rout. 



It is surprising how wise and wild the 

 English Sparrow becomes after being 

 shot at a time or two. The opening of a 

 door or the sight of a man sixty yards 

 away is cause enough for him to take to 

 wing. However, there is a time, the 

 brooding period, when the wildest can be 

 bagged, at least the female and usually 

 the male also. At such times the most 

 wary that insisted on remaining paid the 

 price for their folly. I am sure that not 

 a single brood was reared on our premises 

 up to the time of my leaving the home- 

 stead six years ago. 



This I consider significant, that a farm 

 of one hundred and sixty acres was able 

 to enjoy such freedom from these birds at 

 an annual cost not exceeding fifteen cents, 

 while the five adjoining farms had, and 

 still have Sparrows in abundance. One 

 has maintained a flock numbering at least 

 one hundred. 



Such is the experiment, successfully 

 prosecuted over twenty-five years, that 

 might be taken as an example by all land- 

 owners. In fact, I have come to believe 

 that the only way to deal with the problem 

 successfully is for the various states to 

 require every real-estate holder to prevent 

 absolutely the rearing of a single brood 

 of English Sparrows on his premises. — 

 Newton Miller, Norton, Mass. 



The Purple Martin 



The object in view of every bird-lover, 

 bird-student and protectionist is not alone 

 the preservation of the Martin bird, but 

 also that the largest number of young 

 birds are reared to maturity, and attain 

 the state of self-maintenance. 



From my boyhood, I have been a lover 

 of the Purple Martin, and have studied 

 its habits. It has always been a source of 

 regret to me to see so many young Martins 

 fall out of their boxes; for, if a young 

 Martin falls to the ground, nine out of ten 

 perish. The loss of young birds may be 

 obviated to a great extent by proper con- 

 struction of the houses, the exact location 

 of the door being of great importance. 

 This applies to houses whether single or 



