316 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



many broods and young yearly to a pair ? 6. Is this Sparrow protected by law? 7. 

 Is it artificially fed ami housed ? 8. Does it molest, drive away, or diminish the 

 numbers of native birds? 9. If so, what species? 10. Does this Sparrow injure 

 shade, fruit, or ornamental trees? 11. Does it attack or injure garden fruits and 

 vegetables ? 12. Does it injure grain crops ? 13. Is it an insect-eater or a seed-eater ? 

 14. What insects, if any, are chiefly eaten by this Sparrow ? 15. What is the princi- 

 pal food it carries to its young? 16. What insects, if any, are carried by it to its 

 young ? 17. Does the food of the old bird vary with the seasons, and if so, in what 

 way ? 18. Does the food of its young vary, and if so, how ? 19. If any insects are 

 eaten, are they beneficial or injurious species? 20. Does the Sparrow eat the larvae 

 of the vaporer moth (Orjyia leucostigma) ? 21. Does it eat ichneumon flies? 22. Do 

 you determine the nature of this bird's food and that furnished by it to its young by 

 inference, direct observation, or dissection ? 23. Have any injurious insects been 

 exterminated or materially lessened in numbers by this Sparrow? 24. Have any in- 

 jurious insects increased in numbers, or appeared where unknown before, in conse- 

 quence of the destruction of other insects by this Sparrow ? 25. Have these Spar- 

 rows in your neighborhood been destroyed systematically or otherwise, and if so, by 

 what means? 26. What bounty, if any, has been offered for their destruction ? 27. 

 What is the general sentiment or balance of public opinion respecting the European 

 House Sparrow in your locality ? 28. On the whole, in your judgment, is this Spar- 

 row an eligible or ineligible species in this country ?" 



In order to secure a thorough j)resentation of the subject to those most likely to 

 respond satisfactorily, each member of the committee assumed the duties of corre- 

 spondence in his own section of the country, as well as in certain allotted sections of 

 the entire United States and Canada. Copies of the letter were sent to the agricult- 

 ural papers, to the various journals having columns devoted to zoological and rural 

 matters, and to the press at large. The greater part, however, was directed to indi- 

 viduals believed to possess facts pertinent to the subject. About one thousand copies 

 were thus sent out. 



A large proportion of the answers received are of one import, written by persons 

 having no definite data to communicate, but who, having experienced annoyance 

 from the bird's uncleanliness and unmusical notes, desire to see it exterminated. 

 Under this head belong the numerous petitions which have reached us from several 

 quarters, notably from Philadelphia. The subject is regarded sufficiently important 

 by the inhabitants of that city to warrant the issue of printed forms, which, with 

 long lists of subscribers, have been submitted to the consideration of your committee. 

 The paucity of replies to many of our questions renders it impossible to report upon 

 them decisively. Others, however, are fortunately very fully answered. 



Returns to the first question give some data of interest in relation to the time of 

 the Sparrow's first introduction into this country. The earliest date of importation 

 known to us is 1858,* when Mr. Thomas A. Deblois liberated a few individuals at Port- 

 land, Me. These disappeared shortly afterward, and were not successfully replaced 

 until 1875. In 1858 Sparrows were liberated at Peacedale, R. L, by Mr. Joseph Peace 

 Hazard. They were first introduced into Central Park, New York City, according to 

 Mr. Conklin, the superintendent of the menagerie, in the year 1864. In 1860 Mr. 

 Eugene Shieffiin turned loose twelve birds in Madison Square, New York City. In 

 1868 the species was first introduced into Boston Common. In 1869 a number were 

 given the liberty of the parks of Philadelphia. Somewhat later a successful attempt 

 was made to establish a colony near Great Salt Lake, Utah, and about the same time 

 the birds became resident at Indianapolis, Iud. 



In a period of about ten years the Sparrows reached nearly all the large towns and 

 cities of New England and the Middle States and many of those of the Western States 

 without artificial assistance. It also made its appearance in suburban towns and 



*[This was an error. Two importations at least were known to have been made 

 at Brooklyn, N. Y., before 1853. See page 17 of this Bulletin.— W. B. B.] 



