EFFECTS OF CLIMATE AND FOOD. 33 



zero this offal is frozen so quickly and thoroughly as to cut off almost 

 completely the Sparrows' main reliance.* 



Sparrows were introduced at Saint Paul, Minn., as early as the fall 

 of 1S7G; yet at the present time there are so few that they are seldom 

 noticed. The following statement by an observant resident of that 

 place, Mr. Morton Barrows, shows at least one cause, and that undoubt- 

 edly the principal one, for this state of things. He says : 



Oar streets are not cleaned in winter, sleds being used universally. Moreover, we 

 have no thaws, and everything remains frozen solid until spring. At 30 degrees below 

 zero horse droppings freeze almost instantly, and are generally covered with the loose, 

 fine snow of the streets as they fall, that is, it is so cold that there is always a fine, 

 loose surface snow, from 1 to 5 inches deep, even in the most used streets, and any- 

 thing falling into that is quickly buried by passing teams. 



Not much grain is moved here in auy weather, especially not in winter. The 

 ground is generally covered deep with snow from the middle of November until April, 

 and I do not see what Sparrows can find to feed on. Again, we have more or less 

 deposit each day, even in clear weather. When it is intensely cold spiculae fall in 

 large quantities, generally in the morning, while snow-storms are very frequent. All 

 manner of refuse is thus quickly covered. 



The same check on the increase of the Sparrow has doubtless been 

 felt in many other Northern cities, and it is possible that this alone will 

 suffice to render the bird harmless near the northern limit of its range. 

 At first sight it may seem that the abundance of Sparrows in some 

 Canadian cities would be fatal to this theory; but we must remember 

 that the climate of Minnesota is much more severe than that of Ontario, 

 and also that Sparrows were originally introduced at many points in 

 Canada; that they have been there much longer than in Minnesota ; 

 and, finally, that they have been cared for much more generally in Cana- 

 dian towns than in those of Minnesota. 



There is abundant evidence that Sparrows are killed sometimes in 

 large numbers in summer as well as in winter. Severe thunder-storms, 

 with or without hail, but accompanied by high wind, have proved veri- 

 table catastrophes to many Sparrow communities, especially where the 

 storms come on at night or after the Sparrows have assembled in large 

 numbers at their roosting places. The details of such Sparrow calam- 

 ities, which occurred at Roekford, 111., Baltimore, Md., Jersey City, N. 

 J., and Washington, D. C, will be found in the evidence on this sub- 

 ject, and we have records of similar cases at Eochester, 1ST. Y,, and 

 Media, Pa. In some instances thousands of Sparrows have been 

 killed at a single locality by a single storm, the deaths resulting ap- 



*The great u blizzard" of March, 1838, doubtless killed vast numbers of Sparrows 

 throughout the area in which it was most severe. In New York and Pennsylvania 

 not only were hundreds found dead as the snow melted away, but their scarcity dur- 

 ing the spring months was generally remarked. Although this storm was accompa- 

 nied, or followed, by severe cold in many places, it was more remarkable for very 

 heavy snow-falls and high winds; moreover, it lasted two or three days, and in many 

 places all out-door traffic was suspended for several more. Thus, doubtless, number- 

 less Sparrows survived the violence of the storm only to find all ordinary sources of 

 food supply cut off, leaving them to die of starvation. 

 8404— Bull. 1 3 



