OBJECTIONS TO BOUNTY LAWS. 159 



(2) Such a scheme of extermination, to be successful, must be care- 

 fully planned, and must be carried on for at least five successive years. 

 But in all probability the first year's expenditures would be so heavy, 

 that an immediate repeal of the law would be demanded. Moreover, as 

 no accurate census of the Sparrow population of the State could be 

 made, it would be impossible to tell exactly what proportion of the 

 Sparrows had been killed, and this element of uncertainty would be a 

 powerful argument for repeal. Furthermore, the mere continuation of 

 a fixed bounty would prove wholly inadequate, for, as already shown, 

 it must be largely increased — probably doubled or trebled — each year 

 in order to accomplish any tangible result. This can not be provided 

 for in the original bill without in part frustrating the very design of the 

 law ; for if it is known that after January 1 of any year the bounty is 

 to be increased, few people will care to hunt Sparrows during the last 

 weeks or months of the preceding year. 



(3) The number of Sparrows in tbe State might prove to be very 

 much greater than was supposed. 



(4) In spite of all checks the actual rate of increase might prove to 

 be much greater than that assumed. 



(5; Unless neighboring States should prosecute equally vigorous cam- 

 paigns, Sparrows would enter the State in considerable numbers if the 

 warfare were relaxed for a single month. 



(G) Even admitting the possibility of reducing the Sparrows 50 per 

 cent, during the first three months of a year, it is very doubtful if the 

 rate of decrease assumed for the remainder of the year could be secured 

 without an increase of bounty, 



(7) As soon as Sparrows became somewhat scaice throughout the 

 State, and the bounty was correspondingly increased, people would 

 begin to protect and rear them simply for the sake of the bounty, and 

 so long as the law did not compel a man to rid his land of tbem his in- 

 tentional neglect would give the same result as intentional propagation. 



(8) In spite of all precautions many Sparrows killed in States where 

 they were still abundant would be sent into Ohio, and bounties would 

 be collected for them ; and this would be done the more frequently as 

 their number became smaller and smaller in Ohio and the bounty was 

 made larger and larger. 



(9) In order properly and speedily to examine all applications for 

 bounties, and to destroy all Sparrows or Sparrow heads on which 

 bounties had been paid, it would be necessary to appoint one or moiv3 

 poisons in each town or village, who should have the requisite knowl- 

 edge, to attend to tbis matter. It would be useless to expect the town 

 clerk or other town officer to assume this duty without additional com- 

 pensation, and, moreover, very few such officers would be competent to 

 discriminate between heads of English Sparrows and those of more 

 valuable birds ; hence, 



(10) Either an additional expense would be put upon the State, or else 



