The Audubon Society 



137 



make it possible to obtain legislative au- 

 thority for the enactment and keeping of 

 good bird laws, which are the backbone 

 of protection. 



Again, there should be no sort of con- 

 flict between ultra bird protectionists 

 and legitimate scientific ornithology. That 

 many of the best known ornithologists 

 occupying public positions in the United 

 States favor the restriction of egg-collect- 

 ing, etc., is amply proved by a leaflet 

 issued in May, by Witmer Stone,* called 

 "Hints to Young Bird Students," and 

 signed by such men as J. A Allen, Robert 

 Ridgway, C. Hart Merriam, A. K Fisher, 

 Wm. Brewster, F. M. Chapman, John H. 

 Sage, C. W. Richmond, T. S. Palmer, and 

 Wm. Dulcher. 



The Audubon Societies are responsible 

 for meeting these liberal-minded and pro- 

 gressive scientists half way. There must 

 be anatomists and embryologists to study 

 the human body, why not then, also, of 

 the feathered brotherhood, only it is not 

 necessary for mankind in general to keep 

 skeletons of either birds or people in their 

 closets for this purpose, and the random 

 collecting of either should be regarded 

 as equally reprehensible. 



I would see humanity and science allied 

 in this matter. If the Audubon Societies 

 confess that this is impossible, they are 

 taking the responsibility of harnessing 

 humanity with ignorance, — a horse that 

 will drag any companion into the ditch. 



Let "For the Protection of Birds" be 

 the banner motto under which the Au- 

 dubon Society shall go out, as it is bound, 

 to teach (not to preach) the 'bird in the 

 bush,' but the teaching need be none the 

 less humane, and will be far more efl^ect- 

 ual if, instead of ' dicky-bird ' platitudes 

 of uncertain sex and species, it deals out 

 good, sound, popular ornithology 



M. \V. 



The So-called Sparrow War in Boston 



In the month of March, 1S9S. a com" 



mittee organized by the American Society 



of Bird Restorers presented to the Mayor 



of Boston in person the following petition, 



♦See page 125 of tliis number of Biru-Lork. 



signed by a host of representative 

 Bostonians : 



" To //on. Josiu/i Qui>u\\ A/iiyor of 

 J-ioston. 



" The undersigned petitioners hereby re- 

 spectfully represent that the presence in 

 Boston of hosts of the noxious imported 

 Finch, known as the English Sparrow, has 

 come to be a public nuisance, general 

 expense and serious esthetic injury, im- 

 peratively calling for prompt municipal 

 abatement. 



" Your petitioners would, therefore, most 

 earnestly request that, as the Chief 

 Executive Officer of the city, you direct 

 the immediate reductitjn and suppression 

 of this pest in such places (instancing the 

 Common and, conditionally, the cemeteries 

 of Boston) as may now be under, or may 

 with this purpose in view be brought 

 under, municipal control." 



Under the }aw of 1890, the Mayor pro- 

 ceeded at once to take such measures as 

 seemed advisable for clearing the Common, 

 Public Garden, and city squares, of the 

 Sparrow pest. 



The work was done under the general 

 oversight of the Committee on the English 

 Sparrow, of which Mr. Fletcher Osgood, 

 manager and organizer of the Bird 

 Restorers, was and is the chairman. Five 

 men, with Foreman Kennedy, proceeded to 

 clear English Sparrow nests from the 

 Common, by removing them from orifices 

 in the trees, from openings in the Sani- 

 tary Building, and from electric hoods. 

 The nest-boxes, put up years ago by 

 misguided persons to accomodate the 

 English Sparrow were all removed, and 

 the Sanitary Building on the Public 

 Garden was cleared. 



In the progress of this work, thousands 

 of small orifices in the trees of the Com- 

 mon (all known to exist) were cleared 

 out and effectively closed with wooden 

 stoppers, and much dead wood, inviting 

 the breeding of the Sparrow, was re- 

 moved. As a whole, great good in the 

 way of arresting decay and generally 

 improving the trees of the Common was 

 done by Foreman Kennedy and his force, 

 even if we leave out of account the 

 checking of the breeding of the Sparrow. 

 The work began on March 15, and ended 

 April 5. During that period about 5,000 



