ATTRACTING THE WINTER BIRDS 109 



birds fed, about stables where there were no 

 chickens or pigeons, and especially about the 

 grain-cars in the railroad yards which continually 

 leaked wheat, oats, etc. On days, especially early 

 mornings, after a fresh fall of snow I gathered 

 in the little pests by the hundred. 



" Of course I was authorized by the city gov- 

 ernment to carry on this work as I wished, but in 

 the larger cities difficulty will be experienced 

 in getting permission to use the poisoned grain. 

 I believe, however, that care in its distribution 

 would render its use in the large cities perfectly 

 harmless to every bird, except the English spar- 

 row, because the well-known habit of the species 

 suggests the method. Every person who sees the 

 sparrow at all, sees it at work upon the scattered 

 piles of excrement distributed everywhere by the 

 horse, sorting out and devouring with great rel- 

 ish the undigested grain, chiefly oats. A thimble- 

 ful of poisoned wheat dropped upon each small 

 manure-pile in both the business and suburban 

 sections, during the winter when forage is scarce, 

 would probably in the large cities like Washing- 

 ton, kill from five to twenty birds. In studying 

 the matter here, I am sanguine that with a few 

 careful men to help, at least 90 per cent of the 

 pests in this city could be killed within a month 

 and at the rate of somewhere between 10,000 and 



