148 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



places for the Sparrows to build their nests, ami they choked them up so completely 

 that water could uot pass oown'the spout at all, or ouly by slow percolation. In 

 consequence these heads either had to bo abandoned or completely covered, so that 

 there was no room for the birds to get in. In some cases the Sparrows would fill the 

 gutter and eave troughs with all manner of trash, seemingly using tbem for a play- 

 ground, and not for the purposes of nest-building. They caused much annoyance in 

 this respect, as the gutters had to be cleaned two or three times during a year. In 

 fact, I knew oue or two persons having groves of trees near their dwellings who kept 

 ladders continually at hand for this purpose. (December 26, 18S7.) 



Mr. J. T. Connor, of Koine, Ind., writes : 



The greatest trouble the Sparrow gives us here is by nesting about our houses, par- 

 ticularly in the spouting and pipes, and obstructing the troughs that lead the water 

 to our cisterns. (November 5, 1886.) 



Mr. J. S. Shade, of McOoniiellsburgh, Pa., writes: 



They are a nuisance here, filling the water spouts with their nests, which they re- 

 build as fast as destroyed. (November 15, 1886.) 



Occasionally this habit of the Sparrow may prove dangerous to the 

 health of persons who use cistern water for drinking. Cases are not 

 very infrequent in which severe sickness has resulted from the use of 

 water collected from roofs frequented by domesticated pigeons, and 

 such a result is perfectly possible from the use of water contaminated 

 by filth from Sparrow nests and roosts. 



Still another danger from the presence of Sparrows about our houses 

 lies in the possibility of fire resulting from spontaneous combustion 

 among the masses of rubbish carried into out-of-the-way corners about 

 frame buildings. Although there is little probability of such fires origi- 

 nating frequently, yet they are known to have been caused by the 

 material collected by mice, and the following incident, taken from the 

 Scientific American of February 26, 1887, seems to show that there is 

 some ground for similar apprehension from the Sparrow: 



Tlnre is a bar-iron mill situated in a neighboring town, 4 miles from here, that has 

 been on fire three or four times, in which the English Sparrow might be called the in- 

 cendiary. These sparrows pick up old pieces of cotton waste, which they build into 

 their nests among the timbers of the roof of the mill, and in every case of the fires 

 above mentioned these nests were the cause, either from spontaneous combustion or 

 from sparks from the hot iron striking and lodging in the nest. (R. W. Kear, Potts- 

 ville, Pa.) 



As au illustration of the capacity of the Sparrow for mischief, we cite 

 the following statement of Mr. fl. H. Miller, of Sandy Spring, Md. He 

 writes : 



It has become useless to thatch roofs with rye straw here, as the Sparrow wears 

 holes through it, apparently for "pure devilment.' 7 I know of several roofs that 

 have been destroyed in this way within the last two or three years. (February 16, 



1887.) 



Similar injury to thatched roofs is very common in some parts of 

 England, and has been ascribed, as above, to the Sparrow's love of 

 mischief. It seems probable, however, that the injury results from a 

 natural mistake on the part of the birds; for they are accustomed, after 



