1 84 THE TREE SPARROW 



Notwithstanding legislative enactment, poisoned wheat is used 

 for destroying sparrows, and not only by those evasive of law 

 through privacy of location, but with countenance of persons 

 wishful of small bird riddance, as shown by the following excerpt 

 from the Daily Chronicle, April 30, 1907 : 



PROFESSIONAL BIRD POISONER. " At Fakenham, Norfolk, 

 yesterday, Robert Bullen, who was described as a professional 

 poisoner of birds, was sent to gaol for fourteen days in default of 

 paying a fine and costs for laying grain steeped in strychnine on 

 three farms. In one instance a barrowload of dead birds was 

 gathered up. Bullen said ne had eaten thousands of poisoned "birds 

 and taken no harm. He also said he had been in the business for 

 twenty-five years without complaint. The farmers, who pleaded 

 ignorance of the law, were also fined for allowing the practice." 



In the United States of America the sparrow is regarded as a 

 grievous pest, and the following poison advised to effect its destruc- 

 tion as "a pest all the world over " : 



" Poison for English Sparrows. Dissolve arsenate of soda in warm 

 water at the rate of i ounce to i pint ; pour this upon as much wheat 

 as it will cover (in a vessel which can be closed so as to prevent 

 evaporation), and allow it to soak for at least 24 hours. Dry the 

 wheat so prepared, and it is ready for use. It should be distri- 

 buted in winter in places where the sparrows congregate." 



Of course, this poisoned wheat, as also that steeped in strychnine, 

 implies baiting the birds for a few days before laying the poisoned 

 article, and there is this disadvantage in recourse to poison, that it 

 kills both foes and friends, whereas Sparrow Clubs conducted on 

 intelligent lines make the distinction. 



TREE SPARROW. In comparison with the house sparrow this is 

 of small economic importance, though often mistaken for the latter 

 on account of its almost exclusively nesting in trees. House spar- 

 rows, however, are great tree-nesters, making nests in trees by farm- 

 steads, rural, suburban and urban dwellings and buildings, in pre- 

 ference to places where likely to be disturbed by cats or destroyed 

 by human beings, a notable example of this being seen in house 

 sparrows selecting a large Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria imbri- 

 cata) by a farmhouse for nesting in preference to all other trees in 

 the vicinity, probably their " reasoning " that cats are not seen 

 after birds on that tree. The large nests and litter made by house 

 sparrows on trees are great eyesores and detrimental to the health 

 of the trees, therefore they should be pulled off whilst the birds 

 are brooding so as to destroy the eggs or young, a pole with iron 

 hook securely fixed to the top end being used for the purpose. Tree 

 sparrows make a much neater nest, and usually some distance from 

 dwellings, far more isolated and every way less social in habits than 

 house sparrows, and more insectivorous in feeding, especially their 

 young. As a rule, they are not so numerous as to call for any 



