27 



The English Sparrows— What Shall We Do With Them 



Many bird lovers are agreed that English sparrows 

 drive away our native song birds, and should be looked 

 upon as a pest. Some persons poison them, but we 

 feel this is risky, and in many cases may be dangerous 

 to other animal life. Shooting is effective, as they 

 soon seem to sense the fact that they are unwelcome, 

 and move away. We commend, however, the sparrow 

 trap. These traps can be obtained from Joseph H. 

 Dodson, Suite 1 201-5, 19 La Salle St., Chicago, 111., at 

 $5 each; or from Jacobs Bird House Co., 404 Washington 

 St., Waynesburg, Pa., at $4 each. Both these manu- 

 facturers model their traps from the Government spar- 

 row trap designed by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. Details and patterns are shown in the 

 fourth annual report of the state ornithologist, Mr. 

 Edward Howe Forbush, 191 1, issued by the Massachu- 

 setts Department of Agriculture. We would also call 

 attention to the Farmers Bulletins 389 and 493, published 

 by the Bureau of Biological Survey, Department of 

 Agriculture, entitled, "The English Sparrow," and 

 "How to Destroy English Sparrows. " 



Books and Bird Articles 



A few books and pamphlets were displayed, as ex- 

 amples of standard works easily obtainable at moderate 

 prices. Many valuable books are necessarily omitted 

 from a list of this scope : this list is simply a nucleus for 

 an exhibition or library. We wish to emphasize the im- 

 portance of the literature issued by the National and 

 the State Audubon Societies, as well as that of the 

 Department of Agriculture at Washington, and the 

 Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. In addition 

 to the books and pamphlets there were also displayed 



