THE 00L0GI8T. 



into Monston, Fredericton and St. Stephen 

 in New Brunswick. 



That the English Sparrow is a curse 

 which should be systematically attacked 

 and destroyed, the action taken by the 

 agricultural department of the United 

 States government will testify. Questions 

 relating to the English Sparrow were con- 

 tained in the hrst circular on economic 

 ornithology issued by the above depart- 

 ment (in July 1885) during the current year, 

 a special circular has been prepared with 

 special bearing on this question, upwards of 

 5000 copies of which have been distributed. 

 Answers received from thirty-two bundled 

 persons show the English Sparrow to have 

 established itself in thirty-rive states aud 

 ft ve territories. They show the sparrow to 

 be an enemy of our native birds, its bell- 

 igerent disposition forcing them to abandon 

 their former nesting places. The birds 

 which have suffered most from them are the 

 robin, catbird, bluebird wren, song spar- 

 row, chipping sparrow, yellow bird, oriole 

 and finch's, whose cheery presence in the 

 parks and lawns in the nesting season, we 

 now rarely enjoy. Again he is the enemj' 

 of the gardener and fruit grower, for in 

 addition to the injury brought about by 

 depriving our gardens aud orchards of the 

 protection afforded by our native insect 

 worm birds, the sparrow causes a direct loss 

 to our orchards and gardens, amounting in 

 the aggregate to no less than several mill- 

 ions of dollars per annum, — affecting al- 

 most every crop produced by the farmer, 

 fruit grower, and truck gardener. In the 

 early spring it prevents tbe growth of a vast 

 quantity of fruit by eating the germs from 

 fruit buds of trees, bushes and vines, of 

 which the plum, cherry, apple, currant and 

 grape suffer most. Lettuce, peas, beets, 

 radishes and cabbages, are attacked in turn 

 and devoured as soon as they show their 

 heads above the ground. 



As an insect destroyer he is a perfect 

 failure, but as a defiler of buildings, dis- 

 figuring them by his nests and excrement, 

 he, on the other hand, is a perfect success. 

 Instances are noted where be has seriously 

 injured ornamental vines by the chemical 

 action of the excrement. The luxuriant 

 English ivy, which once covered portions 

 of the Smithsonian Institute in Washing- 

 ton being thus totally destroyed by them. 

 Our own custom house in Portland, a mas- 

 sive building of dressed granite, credited 

 with being the finest custom house build- 

 ing in the country, is covered with project- 

 ing cornice which might serve as a resting 

 place for the pests, with unsightly strips of 

 wood filled with nails, points upwards, as a 

 measure of protection against the sparrow. 



For these reasons the sparrow nmst go. 

 But how shall this end be accomplished? 

 Other countries have found it necessary to 

 greatly deplete the public treasury for tLe 

 purpose. He should be systematically at- 

 tacked aud destroved before such course be- 

 comes necessary in this. 



By concerted action and by taking advan- 

 tage of its gregarious habits much good may 

 be accomplished with little or no expendi- 

 ture of money. The sparrow is a wary, 

 cunning bird, and soon learns to avoid the 

 means devised by man for its destruction. 



In the winter time if food is placed in 

 some convenient spot at the same hour each 

 day, the sparrow will gather in dense flocks 

 to feed, and large numbers may be killed at 

 one time by firing upon them with small 

 shot. Poisoning is attended with much 

 danger and should only be attempted by 

 official sparrow killers. In this connection 

 it should not be forgotten that the sparrow 

 is an excellent article of food, equalling 

 many of the smaller game birds, in fact it 

 is commonly sold in southern resturants 

 under the name of ' 'Rice-bird " 



Ground Dove. 



Ch am ivpelia passer ina. 



On October 12, 1887, I found nest of 

 this species, on the ground in an orange 

 grove, rear Lake Helen, Fla. It contained 

 set of two eggs perfectly fresh. I think this 

 is the latest on record, for this species. 

 Nest was in a slight hollow in the ground, 

 lined with dry grass and leaves, sheltered 

 by a bunch of weeds growing over it. In 

 April, (1884,) number of Young Oologist, 

 Mr. T. D. Perry says: ''Have been collect- 

 ing fifteen years and never found nest of 

 this bird on the ground. They begin 

 building last of April and I have found 

 eggs early as May 5th." He also gives Aug. 

 31st as the latest nesting of this bird on 

 record. In No. 6, Vol. I of the same 

 paper, J. S. H., Tampa, Fla. says: "I 

 found nest of Ground Dove in orange tree 

 6 ft. from ground Sept. 11th, incubation 

 advanced. In this locality the Ground Dove 

 usually nests on the ground.'" I think I 

 have broken the record for late nesting, 

 Oct. 12 and perfectly fresh too. Next. 



L. S. Morrison, Lake Helen, Fla. 



