314 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



spite of the fact that the sparrow work was stopped by the mayor 

 before it had finished. 



"I wish to urge upon your consideration the fact that it is not 

 civilization that drives away our birds. A long list of our most 

 dv^lightful birds increase with civilization. On Boston Common 

 and Garden, crowded all day, traversed by dogs, close to electric 

 cars and noisy traffic in the heart of a great, busy city, we have many 

 native birds breeding and singing since we greatly reduced the 

 sparrows," 



Mr. Osgood says that sparrows may be destroyed by poking 

 down their nests and breaking the eggs before they develop into 

 young. In Nahant they have killed many by inveigling them into 

 a housetrap large enough for a man to enter and dispose of them. 

 Quick, merciful killing is the only way advocated, but no method 

 short of killing amounts to anything whatever. By using fine 

 shot in a rifle, sparows can be driven away from country-places, as 

 they shun the place after a few shots. 



"The amount of expense that may profitably be incurred in 

 combating the sparrow will depend on circumstances, as in case 

 of the house rat and mouse ; it should be Ijorne in mind that the 

 bounty system has proved to be only an extravagant failure." (Bull. 

 No 15, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 



We cannot all kill sparrows ; we do not all wish to do so. Shall 

 we then fold our hands and let them multiply until there is no room 

 on the face of the earth for our own more useful, more beautiful 

 and more musical song birds? We can at least discourage their 

 presence about our own premises and give encouragement and 

 protection to the native species that love to build their nests in our 

 parks and villages. Let us devote a little time to becoming acquaint- 

 ed with our feathered friends. Let us have a convenient bench in 

 a shady corner of the garden where we can spend a few moments 

 each summer day in simply watching the birds, enjoying their 

 exquisite colors, their lovely voices and noting the individuality that 

 belongs to each species. You do not need to provide for them in 

 summer, but there is nothing gives them so much pleasure as fresh 

 water in shallow basins, in which they can bathe. Do not allow 

 any one to disturb the privacy of their nests, simply love the birds 

 and leave them alone," and you will find recreation, amusement, 

 and instruction in your own door-yard. This interest may induce 

 others to give more thought to the birds, and so an ever widening 

 circle be formed, an increasing sentiment for the preservation of 

 our songsters, which may bring to naught the prophecy that the 

 English sparrow will be the survivor — though not the fittest of all 

 our native birds. 



