08 THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 
simply frightful. Their fecundity is amazing and their adaptability apparently 
limitless. Mr. Barrows, in a special report prepared under the direction of 
the Government, estimates that the increase of a single pair, if unhindered, 
would amount in ten years to 275,716,983,608 birds. 
As to its range, we note that the subjugation of the East has long been 
accomplished, and that the conquest of the West is succeeding rapidly. It 
is not possible to tell precisely when the first Sparrows arrived in Washington, 
but it is probable that they appeared in Spokane about 1895. Of its occur- 
rence in Seattle, Mr. Rathbun says: “Prior to the spring of 1897 I had 
never seen this species in Seattle, but in June of that year I noted a pair. 
The following season I saw fourteen; in 1899 this number had increased to 
about seventy, associating in small flocks.” 
The favorite means of dissemination has been the box car, and especially 
the grain car. The Sparrows, being essentially grain and seed eaters, frequent 
the grain cars as they stand in the railroad yards, and are occasionally im- 
prisoned in them, hopeful stowaways and “gentlemen of fortune.” On this 
account, also, the larger cities and railroad towns are first colonized, and at 
this time of writing (Jan., 1908) the birds are practically confined to them, 
Tacoma having an especial notoriety in this respect because of its immense 
grain-shipping interests. 
Difficult as it may seem, it is true that the English Sparrow adopts the 
policy of Uriah Heep upon first entering a town. With all the unctuous 
humility of a band of Mormon apostles, the newcomers talk softly, walk 
circumspectly, and either seek to escape notice altogether, or else assiduously 
cultivate the good opinion of their destined dupes. Thus, I resided in the town 
of Blaine for two months (in 1904) without running across a single member 
of the pioneer band of nine English Sparrows, altho I was assured on good 
authority that the birds had been there for at least two years previous. 
It requires no testimony to show that the presence of this bird is abso- 
lutely undesirable. It is a scourge to the agriculturist, a plague to the 
architect, and the avowed and determined enemy of all other birds. Its nests 
are not only unsightly but unsanitary, and the maudlin racket of their owners 
unendurable. ‘The bird is, in short, in the words of the late Dr. Coues, “a 
nuisance without a redeeming quality.” Altho we assent to this most 
heartily, we are obliged to confess on the part of our race to a certain amount 
of sneaking admiration for the Sparrow. And why, forsooth? Because he 
fights!' We are forced to admire, at times, his bull-dog courage and tenacity 
of purpose, as we do the cunning of the weasel and the nimbleness of the 
flea. He is vermin and must be treated as such; but, give the Devil his due, 
of course. What are we going to do about it? Wage unceasing warfare, 
as we do against rats. There will possibly be rats as long as there are men, 
