76 OUR NATIVE BIRDS 



in any way interfered either with the pleasure of the 

 public or the breeding and pleasure of our native birds, 

 which have increased greatly in numbers with the 

 growth of our trees and parks. We were set down in 

 the midst of the ' great desert ' thirty-two years ago, 

 with nothing larger than plain's grass to cast a shadow 

 in our neighborhood. Our city now, thanks to the 

 energy of her people, is an oasis, through arboriculture, 

 and the birds of the plains and lower mountains have 

 come to dwell with us. It was in their interest, in 

 great measure, that I began the destruction of the 

 house sparrow. I think the close of my winter's work 

 has never left more than thirty or forty birds uncap- 

 tured, unless more than that number escaped last 

 spring. My work this winter, 1898-99, has been much 

 more successful than usual, for after a thorough search 

 a short time ago, I was able to find only one live sparrow 

 in the city. There may be more, but there are cer- 

 tainly not many. 



"Without going into the failures I have met with, 

 I am satisfied that in this region poisoned whole wheat 

 is the most effective engine of war. 



"I take two small bottles of strychnine, one dram 

 each, and mix the contents with about three quarts of 

 water, boiling until the poison is thoroughly dissolved, 

 using boiling water to begin with. Into the hot 

 poisoned water I stir nearly if not quite, a peck of 

 wheat, and then set the mixture aside for forty-eight 

 hours. The grain absorbs all the water and swells 

 greatly. I then spread the grain over the bottom of 



