238 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



Portsmouth. S. R. Ross: About twelve years ago our city council imported two 

 pairs of Sparrows for our city park, and from these tlio city is overrun with the in- 

 crease, and they arc also finding their way to the adjoining farms and villages. 

 (September 2, 1886.) 



South Salem. W. N. Irwin : The screech owls are working on them very industri- 

 ously, and many of the Sparrows have perished by being frozen in the eavo-troughs 

 around buildings, as they will roost in the troughs, and if any water is in the bottom 

 they freeze and starve. (December 26, 1887.) 



Wadsworth. Dr. J. F. Detweiler. No hunting is more acceptable to farmers in 

 this vicinity than a Sparrow hunt, and these are quite common here, and result in 

 the destruction of great numbers of Sparrows. Inclosed you will find an account 

 of one of these hunts. The man that shot three hundred had fed the birds in sheep- 

 troughs for some time. When the trough was lined on both sides he raked them, 

 killing at one shot sixty-one birds. (January 11, 1888.) 



The item here alluded to is as follows: 



" The great Sparrow hunt. — Monday was a cold day for English Sparrows. About 

 one thousand departed for the ' sweet by and by.' The hunt was exciting, and the 

 'bang 'of the double-barrel shotgun and old flint-lock could be heard it all times 

 during the day. Some of the hunters scored goose-eggs, but the scores were gener- 

 ally creditable. Lewis Heiser was the champion shot, killing three hundred birds. 

 The boys said he had a Gatling'gun and a few dynamite cartridges. Jake Kreider 

 came next with one hundred and forty-five. Eli Brouse killed one ' poor Sparrow.' 

 Kreiders side had three hundred and ninety-six of a majority." * * * 



[The grand total was nine hundred and eighty.] 



Pennsylvania. — Allentown. W. B. K. Johnson: I have tried various poisons, and 

 find that crystallized arsenic is too slow. As soon as they detect anything they dis- 

 gorge the food from their crops. Strychnine kills them, but it is seldom that I can 

 get them to take it on account of its bitterness. I have tried seeds, grain, and bread 

 crumbs with but partial success, and then only when a snow-storm covered up all 

 other food. Some winters I may have killed two hundred or perhaps three hundred, 

 but this winter I have killed scarcely fifty. They are too cunning to go into traps, 

 as I have tried that. If you can tell me of the best method of exterminating them 

 I should be very thankful. (February 7, 1888.) 



Collegeville. C. Augustus Rittenhouse: Boxes are being removed wherever the 

 Sparrow builds. The bird is a curse to the country, and there should be a rew T ard to 

 the pei on killing the most in a year's time. Perhaps this would be the quicker 

 way to rid the country of the pest. (August 18, 1886.) 



Tennessee. — Decatur. I. C. Arrants : About three years ago they were first noticed 

 in small numbers in the grove surrounding the court-house, but now they exist in 

 swarms all over the town. (November 13, 1886.) 



Utah. — Pleasant Grove. Mrs. P. Sterrett : It has become a great nuisance to farm- 

 ers and gardeners. Our barns and sheds are filled with nests, and they increase rap- 

 idly. (November 11, 1886.) 



Provo City. Daniel Graves: I learn that in Salt Lake the city fathers are giving 

 a premium for its destructioB, and the same is being talked of in this city. (Novem- 

 ber 16, 1886. ) 



Vermont. — Luneriburgh. Dr. Hiram A. Cutting : There is no law r to protect them. 

 Cats catch them here as fast as they increase. (September 5, 1886.) 



Rutland. Jenness Richardson : I have notes of two broods in winter and three in 

 summer. There are from four to seven young in a brood. They are destroyed mainly 

 by the northern shrike ; in 1880 they were nearly exterminated by this bird. (Feb- 

 ruary 8, 1884.) 



West Virginia.— Cameron. Jas. C. Crawford: They first appeared here in 1883, 

 and at present their numbers are estimated in the thousands. (November 12, 1886.) 



Halltown. John H. Stridor : Our town authorities have given the boys a bounty 



