322 CONNECTICUT GEQL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bllll. 



of horse power by electricity will, by reducing the food supply 

 of the birds, do more toward diminishing their numbers in the 

 city parks than any plan for restricting their reproduction. The 

 amount of expense that may profitably be incurred in combating 

 the sparrow will depend on circumstances, as in the case of 

 the house rat and mouse; but it should be borne in mind that 

 the bounty system has proved to be only an extravagant failure.'* 

 (Judd, " The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture.") 



But to effectually combat these pests more active measures 

 must be taken. " Preliminary to the following destructive meas- 

 ures, sparrows should be baited until they are attached to the spot 

 selected for their execution. Seeds, grain, or waste from the 

 table, if supplied regularly, will soon establish a feeding place. 

 If a general campaign is to be undertaken, enough such feeding 

 places should be maintained to attract to them practically all the 

 English Sparrows in the neighborhood. This can be easily done 

 in winter when food is scarce. After thus baiting the sparrows 

 they may be trapped, shot, or poisoned. 



" Traps alone are inadequate to exterminate sparrows, but 

 a reduction of numbers can be effected by using a shallow box 

 not less than 4 feet square, open on one side and covered with 

 woven wire on the other. One side of this trap rests on the 

 ground, while the opposite side is supported by a stick 18 inches 

 long. Near the upper end of this stick is attached a long cord, 

 and between the top of it and the edge of the trap is placed a 

 chip. By setting the trap over bait and pulling the cord from 

 a sheltered place of observation when a flock of sparrows is be- 

 neath it, numbers of them may be caught. Instead of the box 

 described above, by which the birds are taken alive, an old door 

 or similar device may be employed as a deadfall. In either case 

 the trap should be kept set and baited until the sparrows are not 

 afraid to go under it. The best time for trapping is just after 

 a snowstorm, when the birds have been fasting. Then, if the 

 ground be cleared and chaff and grain be put under the trap, 

 the birds will crowd in and enable the trapper to secure nearly 

 all of the local flock. If any escape, they will spread the fear 

 of traps, and before long very few of the birds can be induced 

 to go into one. 



