DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 99 



foothold ia twenty States, the District of Columbia, and two provinces 

 in Canada. 



Between 1S70 and 18S0 it was estimated that its range had been 

 extended by nearly 16,000 square miles, and isolated colonies were 

 established at San Francisco (1S71-72) and Salt Lake City, Utah 

 (1873). During the next five j'ears it spread over more than 500,000 

 square miles, and in 1880 had become established in thirty-five States 

 and five Territories, occupying practically all of the region east of 

 the Mississippi River (except portions of Florida, Alaliama, and Mis- 

 sissippi), as well as parts of eight States in the West. Its range was 

 estimated to cover 1,03.3,000 square miles, including 1-18,000 square 

 miles in Canada. 



Fig. :i.— Map showing spread of English sparrow in the United States: The entire shaded area 

 represents approximately the present distribution of the sparrow: triangles indicate colonies 

 in 1860: black spots, colonies in 1870: circles, isolated colonies in ;[886; dotted area, range in 

 1886: lined area, extension of range up to end of 1898. 



At the present time (1898) only three States (Montana, Nevada, and 

 Wyoming) and three Territories (Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico) 

 are apparently free from the sparrow. Its range extends westward to 

 the Great Plains and in Colorado to the Rocky Mountains, and also 

 occupies considerable areas in Utah and central California. (See fig 2. ) 



The true character of the bird is now so well known that it is 

 unnecessary to dwell on its injuries to fruit and grain, the nuisance 

 it has become in large cities, and the extent to which it has replaced 

 native birds. The ill-directed care and energy expended on introduc- 

 ing and fostering it thirty years ago are largely- responsible for the 

 marvelous rapidity of its distribution. Now, when too late, efforts at 

 extermination have been begun, and four States (Illinois, Michigan, 

 Ohio, and Utah) have offered bounties for its destruction, the expend- 

 itures in Illinois (1891-1805) and Michigan (1887-1895) amounting 

 to about !i;117,500. 



