653 



THE SPAREOW! 

 IS IT USEFUL OE HAEMFUL TO AGEICULTUEE? 



By Igali Svetozak. 



I am a Hungarian agriculturist, and am very anxious, if pos- 

 sible, to see the above question settled. Some years ago at the 

 last " International Conference for the Protection of Birds " 

 in Paris in 1895, a list of birds, which were considered to be 

 useful or harmful to agriculture, was drawn up. The family 

 of the Passeres was mentioned, but no special attention 

 was drawn to the ' e Moineaux " (Sparrow, Spatz, Vrâbâcz, 

 Yeréb). The Minister of Agriculture for Hungary has 

 recently (1904) also drawn up an elaborate schedule in regard 

 to this question, in which again no special mention is made 

 of the Sparrow. 



The Fourth Ornithological Congress will do a most useful 

 piece of work, if the question can be settled, as to whether 

 this bird should be protected or have war à outrance declared 

 against it. I am, as I have already said, an agriculturist, 

 and also a wine-grower and a gardener. I am very sorry to 

 have to announce that I am the pitiless enemy of this little 

 brigand, and that I am convinced that, if we could only 

 succeed in exterminating the whole species, it would be 

 distinctly to our advantage as agriculturists. I should be 

 very glad if someone from the ranks of the " Sparrow- 

 friends " could upset my opinion. I will state my indictment 

 against it. 



Following the fashion of Switzerland and Württemberg, I 

 have constructed nests out of cigar boxes, hollowed wood, etc., 

 and placed them on the trees in my orchard and vineyard. 

 I have also placed artificial nests for occupation by the really 

 useful birds, such as the Nightingale, Goldfinch, Eed- 

 breast, Song Thrush, Oriole, and Eedstart, between the 

 sprays of the climbers Glycine chinensis and Periploca graeca, 

 which grow thickly upon the walls of my habitation. 



I destroyed all cats that I knew were addicted to bird- 

 killing, and during the winter I distributed food, and attended 

 to the water supply. 



