control this foreign enemy; otherwise the boxes eventually will 

 be occupied by sparrows, other birds will be driven out and 

 the net result will be an increased sparrow population. A 

 great manufacturing firm writes: — 



The sparrows have become so numerous about our buildings as to be 

 almost unbearable so far as noise is concerned. Also they are extremely 

 dirty, and we are very desirous of keeping them away. It has occurred 

 to us that poisoned food of some sort could be used with safety. May 

 we not hear a word from you? If poison is proper, how shall we proceed? 



Many inquiries similar to the above have been received. 

 Most of these inquirers have been referred to Farmers' Bulletin 

 383, by Ned Dearborn, published by the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, on "How to 

 destroy English Sparrows," and Farmers' Bulletin 493, issued 

 by the same Bureau, entitled, "The English Sparrow as a 

 Pest," by the same author; but so many complaints continually 

 come in and so many requests for methods of destroying the 

 sparrow have been received, that at last it has become necessary 

 in self-defense to publish a circular in reply to these complaints, 

 giving the desired information. 



The old-time question as to whether the sparrow is a pest or 

 not continually comes up. The sparrow rears many young, 

 and as the young are fed to some extent on insects they con- 

 sume quantities of insects in a summer. Were the sparrows in 

 our city parks destroyed, probably we should have serious 

 trouble with certain leaf-eating insects before native birds could 

 be attracted to these parks in any numbers, but few native 

 birds can nest in the parks while the sparrow remains. The 

 sparrow consumes quantities of army worms, and becomes a 

 useful bird whenever an invasion of these insects occurs. Some 

 people believe that since the replacement of the horse by the 

 motor the sparrow has given more attention to insect pests 

 because of a lack of its common food in the streets, and that 

 it is especially beneficial now in the cities. 



The greatest injury resulting from the introduction of the 

 sparrow is the displacement of native birds and the consequent 

 increase of injurious insects which the sparrow does not eat. 

 The leopard moth, for example, which was introduced into this 

 country in the latter part of the last century, has become very 



