Jui/sr 26, 1883.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



B03 



J&ty*/ § #'<"'#♦ 



HOW TO KILL THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 



Editor Foretl awl Sfawtm: 



I agree with your correspondent) "Homo," tn fe < > to 

 the dangers attending the use of the gun OT Off poison for ex- 

 tirpating this nuisance, 1 have been mudhannoyed lately 

 bysparrows that occupy n canrtin-house on my neighbor's 

 premises. The martins left it in disgust a few yours since, 

 for all our birds keep aloof from the filthy Iwuise-fiparrow. 

 tfthe house hail been rav property 1 should have removed 

 itkragago. The sparrows likewise had heaped their rub- 

 bish upon forsaken birds' nests, defacing the trees and 

 making something like a nest, for their own offspring- 1 

 encouraged the boys in the neighborhood to destroy all 

 these lumps of rubbish, but this did not seem to diminish 

 the sparrows or their demoniacal chirping. 



Our Massachusetts Legislature had repealed the ridiculous 

 law that protected these pests, and Die inhabitants were now 

 at liberty to use their common sense in llielreatnient of these 

 birds, But while thousands were anxious to exterminate 

 them (if possible from Hie face of tl e earth), all wen averse 



to using poison or the gun. I would not like to u-e either, 

 though in winter, when our summer granivorous birds are 

 absent, poison might be used with safely. 



Being contined io tie- house bv illness during the month 

 el Mav. and amusing mvs, If by listening to the singing birds 

 thai were numerous around my house, 1 was greatly an- 

 noyed by the demoniacal chirping of the sparrows, which 

 often for an hour would render it impossible to hear the 

 sylvan concert. While watching a man outside wdio was 

 haing the hose to wash the windows of an adjoining house 

 a happy thought, as it seemed lo me, entered my mind. I 

 thought how quickly every sparrow in Hie. martin-house 

 mi^lit be destroyed bj directing a stream of water into 



their filthy apartment? alter thev had retired to rest, 

 and drowning lliem. The same ueau- might be used p., 



drive them from everyplace tbej had appropriated. Bui 

 this, method of destroying them could boused only in certain 

 neighborhoods. 



New. Mi Kdiior, 1 ask leave tO suggest a method by which 

 the sparrows, however numerous, might be extirpated imiii 

 any town in less than a week. This would be done by the use 

 of asteuin fire-engine. Let every town that is in games! ap- 

 propriate an engine and a sum of money, and hire a man to 

 useii tor this work. The drowning of the sparrows with cold 

 water would he momentary, and there is indeed no cruelty 

 .,! all in ih«' act. The engine could be u-ed mdsl effectually 

 in the winter, when a stream id' water, by immediately 

 freezing, would destroy the birds almost as quick as light- 

 ning, WlXiSOK FliAOCI. 



North Cambridge, July 13. 



THE ROBIN. 



Tiini'i.i Mujrat&rius. 



SEEhim throw out bis chestandrear back! Oh.heis 

 a proud fellow indeed, quite in contrast with his more 



modest male, bul afler all, bis is a pardonable pride. Pos- 

 sessed uf such a well-knit, figure, tine bead and erect carriage, 

 who can blame him if he exhibits a (rilling conceit. His is 

 a familiar figure on our lawns, now hopping quickly along 

 aud now riinuing swiftly pausing alter each dash, and 

 rearing up to look around. tfee him as he makes another 

 swift run of a few feet, then bends eagerly forward, appear- 

 ing to listen intently. Suddenly he darts his bill down, 

 and with the aid of the glasses, we see him draga long earth- 

 worm from out the grass roots. 1 have never been able to 

 determine with any satisfaction to myself whether it is his 

 sense of hearing or sight which guides him to his food; his 

 attitude of intcuse attention for a moment before darling on 

 his prey, would seem lo indicate that the former was the 

 case, but again, he may be only watching intently, as it is 

 possible that the squirming of the worm as he pushes his 



way to the .surface, may cause a tremor among I lie blades of 



grass, not visible to our coarser vision, but easily perceptible 

 to our little lynx-eyed friend. At all events, there is a mo- 

 ment's pause' each mm. before the final lunge, which almost 

 invariably results in a capture. If the tender morsel hap- 

 pens to be an exLra large one, it is amusing to see him 

 •'freshen his grip," as it Were, and back off, until stretched 

 to its utmost, out comes the worm, aud its wriggling length 

 appears for an instant only, as redbreast unceremoniously 

 '-- him down. 



us. and builds almost 

 the lawn, in the orch- 

 iit spot he mav chance 

 selected for his nest, 

 r. High or low seems 

 rials for hi; nest, he is 

 ed chiefly of wisps of 

 1 often contain bits of 

 itilyof mud, seemingly 

 terior is carefully lined 

 ■, and grass, and great 

 His temper, Iain 



gulps. Him down 



Our friend Is fund of living net 

 anywhere, in maple, elm, spruce, oi 

 ard, or in fact, in the most conveni 

 upon. The location, however, onci 

 he will often occupy year alter ye 

 io make little difference, As to ma 

 not over particular. Though fori 

 hay, and dry grasses, its make-up w 

 paper, string, hair, and always a ipi 

 intended to give it stability. The i 

 with soft warm fibers of bark, ha 

 attention is paid to this part of the \ 

 sorry to say, is not altogether as lovely as h' 

 When a family jaroccurs among the feathered inhabitant 

 in his vicinity although they may not be. of his own kind, 

 you will see him streak off for Uwsceueof tkerompus, to 

 mingle his angry notes in the general roar. He is a kind 

 husband though! and ever on Hie aleri to protect Ins family. 

 His shrill cry of distress will summon alj Ms companions 

 within hearing, and their united efforts will often disconcert 

 aud drive away feline intruders, to say nothing ol crows, 

 blackbirds and other egg-sucking, nest-destroying ycrmin 

 Should he have the good" fortune to discover an Owl, he is 

 supremely happy, aud will join with the sparrows in raising 

 such a din about the poor thing's ears as lo put it . ignoiniu'- 

 ioilily lo flight. A good sougsici . lie is al hi - best during 

 the breeding season, ami it ig a surprise to many, who are 

 familiar only with his ordinary monotonous cry of bob! bob! 

 bob! to bear him launch into such an ecstaey of song, often 

 insisting thai be eannol be the performer. He i- capable of 

 a great deal in the musical line at this season, however At 

 the bath he is inclined to domineer over others who may be 

 in possession on his arrival, and I have, noticed wiih irjtefi 31 

 that the English Sparrow moves olf at otfeeon his appearing 

 m is forced to leave often Is spite "I ooisj expostulation If 



Will wash in company, provided he is not crowded, but it 

 this happen he al once clears Ihc board. 



in the autumn his whole nature, changes; congregating in 

 large ttqctei he becomes exceedingly shy, ami' difficult of 

 approach, aud et this season is a favorite object of pursuit 

 with the -warm- of po'-hunieis who infest our neighbor 



hood. A great deal has been said in regard to his destruction 

 of fruit. True, he will eat lite cherries, and by-the-hv. be is 

 a riiinuihsair as regards the cherry, and we boys al way sused 

 to select those that bore his mark'as b, he the'mosl luscious. 

 EDb affects the. strawberry also to sorap extent, and occasion- 

 ally varies his mjeivu with a iim- grape or two, but the dam 



age he does is lighl,, compared lo that indicted by OtllOTS, the 

 imported nuisance for instance. Il may be that he causes 

 wholesale destruction in some sections, as i.- written of him, 



but I cannot belleveallbf it, and 1 am rather incline,! to 

 think thai if pains were taken to carefully observe. Hie 

 grcatci part of the sins ..f which ihc pretty fellow isaccused, 

 would be brought home to "some other man." In the menu 

 time until the" documents arc produced, 1 shall stand for 

 "Bob" against all comers. W'h.mot. 



( 'W'ilmol" is the signature adopted by our contributor 

 who under the nom deplume "Dick has so often had a place 

 in our columns. For the many "good thing?" sent in the 

 past, our readers will please transfer the credit, to the new 

 name.] 



THE BLACK RACER. 



Editor Forest atul Stream: 



I'm surprised. Do vou know where doubters and unbe- 

 lievers go when they leave New York for good? Here I've 

 had the DTCrcoal of a snake twenty yens, lore il off myself, 

 have referred to il 1 don't know how many times, and one of 

 vou Bay thai his existence is doubled, or rather Hun he did 

 "exist before I killed him. or thai llierc ever was another like 

 him. I am surprised. 1 onlv wish Woodman was alive I,, 

 set forth his merits to you as be did lo me. and then see it 

 vou had doubts. "D'onl know Woodman!" Why, he's the 

 one that did not. give the thsl unearthly screech when the 

 ciiv of Springfield was born, but he did the crier-ing that in- 

 variably follows birth, for two years beautifully. 1 wish 

 sim could have Been him march down Main street, swinging 

 B ponderous bell as though ihc championship of Aineri -a 

 rested on his shoulders, ami as he would bring up at the cor 

 ,f Court square, with the dignity of a judge deposit the 

 bell on his left arm. and. with feel well braced, open on the 



tojeel in hand. It was aol necessary to repeal his message, 

 tor' the whole citv heard it, Latterly, however, his voice 

 produced. some fearful results. One iSabbath moining.while 

 engaged in his usual barber Ous occupation, and in the most 

 ditlicult pari of it, "twa dogs" attempted to settle a little 

 unpleasantness on the doorstep. Opening the door under the 

 excitement of the interruption, he "histed the gale clear ftp'' 

 With a ' get a-e-o-u t" <x( ceding even his usual 'powers. One 

 don disappeared over the teiiec and was not seen afterward; 

 the Other made a dcspciatc leap for Ihc street, but fell dead 



at the gate, undoubtedly struck while crossing the line of 

 some note in that "music of the spears.'' This conclusion 

 was reached after full discussion over the remains. 



But there was earnestness in his description of the black 

 racer. There was. to him, terror in the name., and this is, 

 perhaps, not to be wondered at, for he was not swift of foot, 

 and the idea of being choked in the racer's coil was among 

 the possibilities at least. "One of my neighbors," said he, 

 "was riding on a load of hay, when he received a cut across 

 bis baek as from a heavy whip, and holloaed, 'Oh.' He 

 looked all round, bul could see nothing and drove along. 

 Soon he received another blow aud again holloaed, 'Oh.' 

 It was a black racer, hid in the hay, that had struck him." 

 Another case he related where the snake 'clicked" his tail 

 like a whip lash round the legs of some children, hurting 

 them awfully, and that one big snake was chased by men on 

 horses clear to the, Five Mile House on the Boston mad. 

 where they lost the track entirely, having been distanced 

 out of sight by the snake. 



But to return. It is hardly safe for parlor naturalists to 

 ignore tradition. Few structures are without a base, and 

 the wildest exaggerations in describing phenomena in 

 organic life invariably have some parts On which to build. 

 The Indian tradi.ion of the mastodon which graced one of 

 our earliest school books was, to me, an Unsolved mystery, 

 until lo and behold, the skeleton entire stood before us, and 

 I walked between the forelegs of one, my head not touching 

 the breast bone. Aud in like manner, after the accumu 

 lated tradition of the black racer, it wan hardly proper for 

 Goodrich and other writers to ignore his existence, bee: ns. 

 there must have been something from which to build it. 

 Now he stands out as one of the things that are, and 

 although almost extinct in New England, no reasonable 

 person can doubt his existence. 



The common Oolvberal the United states is seldom even 

 six feel in length, black above, while the whole belly is slaty 

 blue. Constrictor is to me a mistaken title. I have seen 

 them in all ways and places for nearly half a century, and 

 1 never kill one, but give chase, stepping on the tail to see 

 i hem turn upon me, striking with open mouth, seizing my 

 clothing and shaking it like a puppy. I have never been 

 able to induce an attempt at the Constrictor qualities repre- 

 sented. I have seen them ascend a tree of thick branches 

 with all the celerity of a squirrel. 



The black racer (C, dtlfmr) is slimmer built and from 

 eight to twelve feet in length. Glossy black above, the 

 belly a mottled brown. The throat and two-thirds of the 

 neck circuit white as polished ivory, while large blotches of 

 white extend four feet down the belly, disappearing in a 

 broken line in the middle. At first sight aud on short ac- 

 qhaintan.CC it. i- the mostsaucv, impudent snake in existence, 

 and ready to follow anything*! hal will run. One man said 

 this: "The snake moved out I'lom an old fence directly in 

 front, of me, head two feel high, white throat and belly, 

 thrusting out a long fiery tongue. Then, io gei abetter 

 view probably, he came several feet nearer, and evidently 

 with •come now. start yourself in his eve. Of, nurse I showed 

 coat-tails across the field, with his snake-hip close behind. 

 On leaching a fence 1 sei/.ed a slake determined In fight while 

 life lasted, bul the snake stopped just bevond reach of the 

 club. Afler regaining the breath which was in„st sun,-, I 

 demonstrated al. Ihc snake win, retreated across the field and 

 1 after him. Making a stroke al him which he dodged, mv 

 club broke and Uli from my hand. He instantly turned 

 upuii me, and without stopping to think I tooh to mv beeli 

 tiilil a third lime, the snake clOSi behind. Here 

 1 cried 'quits, ' got over the fence ami left him in possession 



Oi Hie tele 



Another man said a racer chased him whose In ad was as 



high as his own, and thai he barely escaped with his life. 

 Another said his companion, while iiuniing, clave down the 



hillside with a nicer al his heels, calling 'for helps, every 

 jump, having lost both hat and gun in his flight. And yet 

 another. "1 was sauntering along, Staff in hand, when 1 



heard a scream 1 , and saw u woman coming down the road 

 with 'colors flying loose.' 'There's a snake after me,' was 



all she could utter. Ab she shot past me, I stepped in front 

 of the snake, who instantly stopped. Stooping a little to 

 get a horizontal stroke and eul his head olf. 1 struck, but his 

 head wasn't there. Quick as a flash he dodged my blow, then 

 turned and disappeared in tin brush and bushes"" 



I could repeat these stories indefinitely. Thev come from 

 men of candor and veracity; arewhal Ihev saw and what 

 they did; so that, making all possible allowances for fright 

 ami exaggeration, I feel that it is hardly necessary to exhibit 

 my own specimen to substantiate the existence of a snake 

 Which, in all serpentine qualities, stand.-, alone and at the 

 head of his genus, Impudent, saucy, frolicsome, but harm- 

 less, is my story of his hiv t i J 1 a better one is told. 



I!. II<m;s;.-oi!0. 



1'. S. — I am happy lo announce thai, alter twenty years' 

 research I received to-day another Cursor, nol as knee as the 

 first, but bearing all the characteristics before described. 

 Spiunofield, Mass. 



\mi\t j§ng dtjd 0utj, 



OA ME RESORTS. 

 Hani imisiwh notes oj 

 to the readers of Foi 

 spondertte/<MtQ*ws"u 



fhdp 



SOME EXPERIMENTS IN VISION. 



I HAVE pursued my experiments, as "I. II. T." sug- 

 gests, with results as follows so far as my eyes are con 

 corned : 



If 1 bring the left edge of an object close ; al hand on a 

 line with the right edge of an object at a distance, tljc right 

 eve being closed al tin' lime. and'Uien open Ihc right 

 tl'ie Aral object does move over and obscures, though il does 

 not hide, the distant object; the distant object is seen dimly. 

 and apparently as if through the near object, while oilier ob- 

 jects (it a distance lhal were bidden by the mar object when 

 the rigid eye was closed, become visible when the right eye 



If the right edge of the near object is brought in line with 

 the right edge of the distant object, the right eyeshut, when 

 the right eye is opened the near object again apparently 

 moves over to the left, and the distant object becomes visi- 

 hie. but by looking intently With both eyes open, the bend 



being steady, the same appearance of seeing Ihc dislani Ob- 

 jeel through the mar line becomes evident, though m>i BO 

 ' arly marked as in the first ease, 



That we see with both cvi s, when both are opened, can 

 be easily shown by trying to hide some distant object, as a 

 flagpole, by some near object as the vertical bar in a window 

 sash. With either eve shut the head can be moved so as to 

 hide the distant object; With both eyes open ihc distant ob- 

 ject will be seen in all positions of the head Ihat keeps the 

 orbits of the eyes on a horizontal line; looking intently it 

 will appear as though there were two near objects, the' dis- 

 tant object being seen all Hie time, and a position can be 

 fonud when it will appear as though the distanl object was 



•n between the two near objects. 



The moon was used as a. distant object, and a veranda 

 post as the near object in verifying the above, so far as. the 

 near object's moving over to the left, aud the moon and a 

 flat ruler wide enough to cover her disk, when held at aim's 

 length, for the last o perimeiit.. The ruler was used for 

 this, as the veranda post hid the, moon even with holh eves 

 open, on account ol" its width. The ruler, held at arms 

 length, appeared double, the two images occupying the post 

 tions shown when first mie eye and then the other was 

 Closed; by closing first one eye and then the oilier, the mhr 

 an be given such a position that the moon can be seen ex- 

 actly midway between the two images, am! the image in 

 position for the right eye (for my eye) Was found to be much 

 the st rongcr. 



I have used the microscope, telescope, Iransil, Ac, and have 

 never shut the unused eye, nor does its beiug open bother me 

 in the least. The most singular power, however, is that 

 familiar to all who use the jeweler's eyeglass; by the will 

 power alone it is possible to see with either the eye looking 

 through the glass, and be blind for the time being with Ihc 

 other, or to see with the eye not occupied by the glass and 

 to be blind with the one so occupied. Time and lime again 

 have I so used my eyes, seeing through the glass when ai 

 work that needed it and seeing absolutely nothing with the 

 oilier, bul when a lool was needed, instantly ohanging to 

 vision with this eye and looking for the tool, perhaps and 

 more than probably not changing the position of the head 

 while so doing, so "as not to lose the position of the work 

 through the glass when it became necessary to look at it 

 again. 



in shooting a ritlc at target 1 always close one i ve. al- 

 though I can see the sights plainly with both eyes open. In 

 snap rifle shooting 1 rJeverslop to think whether I shut one 

 eye or not, and in shooting with a shotgun 1 keep holh eyes 

 open — with me, beiug a right-eyed and rigid handed indi- 

 vidual, 1 have no trouble; but 1 can readily see how a right- 

 handed, left eyed man, or viee wsa, would be troubled to 

 shoot well until he had accustomed himself to the circum- 

 stances by practice. 



1 will not trench on your patience longer, as 1 only in- 

 tended to help "Snapshot" by the results of mv observation-. 

 1 thank "L 11. T." for Ids suggestion, however, which ban 

 led me to confirm my idea by further observations. (.'. D. 



Wyoming, July 10. 



APeiitinicnt Isqi:iiiv. — "The Rev, G. A. Cleveland, of 

 Gloucester, Mass., in a letter to the OapeAlifi Advertiser, 

 says': 'In hunting partridges before now, I have sometimes 

 been a good deal amused with one ol their tricks. On mv 

 coming mar the Mock the male pa. nidge would rush toward 

 me with feathers si uck out like a frill, wings Happing, and 

 making a terrible fuss i„ every possible way, Altera time. 

 though, I found that this was only a hick. While my at- 

 tention was being drawn In the blusterer betore me, the 

 female with smooth feathers and drooped head was hurry- 

 ing- off with the brood to a place of safety. And when this 

 had been accomplished there ware no longer any partridges 

 in sight, male or female." A Hartford correspondent, 

 ■W. II. K." who .ends ii, the above clipping, suggests 111. 

 pertinent inquiry, al whai season of the year was Sir. Cleve- 

 land "hunting partridges before umvr" Will that gentle 



man have, ihe courtesy l" tell ual And il'. as WO presume 

 may sometimes have happened, the shooter succeeded in 

 killing the old birds, will he explain, a.s u contribution to 

 natural history, what became of the brood'.' 



