92 
House & Garden 
A New Chaise Longue 
for Porch or Interior 
The Bombay Chaise Longue, illustrated, is 
woven by the master Craftsmen of the willow 
industry in a quality way. Made entirely of 
imported hand-peeled willow. Back is 26" 
high from seat and seat is 12" high from floor. 
Seat is 44" long. Price, $16.00. Stained, 
$3.00 extra. Solid color seat and back cush¬ 
ions are $7.50. Cretonne seat and back cush¬ 
ions, $10.50. Write for catalog. 
MINNET&CO 
Makers of High Grade WtUoio Furniture, 
362 Lexington Ave. 
Between 40th & 41st Streets ^ c 
,NEW YORK^fer-W 
GARDEN FURNITURE OF RUSTIC CEDAR 
Furniture with the bark on harmonizes with the garden surroundings. 
No glaring color detracts from the charm of blooming flowers and 
verdant lawn. Rustic Cedar is splendidly adapted for either porch 
or lawn. Unaffected by weather. Artistic and substantially built to last.’ 
You will recognize that the above examples are surprisingly low in 
1V1AN.L.K cost. We ship direct to you. Enclose your check now for the 
TO YOU ^l^ove pieces in writing for Catalogue B-3 of many beautiful ex¬ 
amples of pergolas, settees and other Rustic Furniture. 
JERSEY-KEYSTONE WOOD COMPANY TRENTON, N. J. 
Farr's Hardy Chrysanthemums 
I N the dull November days, “when the earth 
is lonely, and the north winds blow,” the hardy 
Chrysanthemums hold full sway. Ihese favored 
flowers, with their somber shades of yellow, mahogany, 
bronzy red and brown, lightened by pure whites and soft 
pinks, bring to the lover of beauty the rich coloring of an 
old tapestry. 
Young plants, set out before July first, will give flowers 
this fall. My collection contains many beautiful single 
and double forms; from these I offer 
12 plants all different d*! 
My selection of varieties X • 
This year I have many desirable DAHLIAS in new varieties and 
older favorites, personally selected from more than 1200 varieties. 
June is amply early for planting, so Uiat you will have time to 
make a selection from the 1917-1918 edition of 
Farr’s Hardy Plant Specialties 
This edition contains 112 pages of text and 30 pages of illustrations 
(13 in colors). If you love the unusual plants, shrubs, and roses 
you want a copy. Your name and address will bring you one. 
Farr’s Catalogue of Tulips, Hyacinths, Narcissus, for Fall plant¬ 
ing, will be mailed on request. A special discount of 10 percent 
will be given on orders received before July 1. 
BERTRAND H. FARR — Wyomissing Nurseries Co. 
106 Garfield Avenue :: :: Wyomissing, Penna. 
Fighting the English Sparrow 
I T was Dr. Henry Van Dyke, I 
think, who once said that “the 
kingdom of ornithology is divid¬ 
ed into two parts: real birds and 
English sparrows.” That the Prince¬ 
ton sage spoke accurately and with 
full knowledge no reasonably ob¬ 
servant person can deny, for of a 
truth the small bundle of imported 
feathers that is scientifically known 
as Passer domesticus has by way of 
birthright an inexhaustible fund of 
hardihood, aggressiveness and sheer, 
blatant, brassy “nerve” that sets him 
widely apart from our own native 
birds and justly merits for him the 
enmity of right-minded folk. 
It is hardly necessary here to go 
into the many tangible concrete rea¬ 
sons for the feeling against this rat 
among birds—his destructiveness to 
garden crops, antagonism to many of 
our most desirable native birds, his 
generally quarrelsome disposition, 
filthy habits, etc. These are all com¬ 
mon knowledge to countryman and 
suburban dweller alike, but the meth¬ 
ods which can, and should, be used 
to decimate, if not actually eradicate, 
the sparrows from any given locality 
are deserving of consideration and 
application. Briefly, and in order of 
importance, they are: Destroying 
nests, shooting and trapping. 
Destroy the Eggs 
Without becoming involved in the 
time-honored argument as to whether 
the hen preceded the egg, or vice 
versa, it is obvious that the future 
supply of sparrows would be serious¬ 
ly curtailed were all the eggs in any 
breeding season destroyed, or at least 
the nests broken up before the young 
were old enough to fly. Every full 
set of eggs that is prevented from 
hatching means five or six less spar¬ 
rows a few weeks hence, and, as an 
egg cannot fly away and chatter de¬ 
risively from your neighbor’s ridge¬ 
pole when you go after it, you will 
derive much satisfaction. 
The nesting season begins very 
early—often in the first part of 
March you will see some of the more 
ambitious “Englishers” commence 
their housekeeping—and continues 
well into the summer. Keep a sharp 
watch on the birds, as they prospect 
about the eaves of the house, the 
hollows of old apple trees, the boxes 
intended for worthier tenants, the 
rafters of barns and outbuildings, 
the waterspouts, leaders, cornices, 
and similar places. When a nest is 
completed and the eggs laid, tear it 
down. If you cannot reach it in any 
other way, get a long pole with a 
hook on the end, and use that. In 
two weeks go the rounds again and 
keep an eye open for new sites, for 
English sparrows are nothing if not 
prolific and persistent, and a fresh 
crop of nests will be ready for gath¬ 
ering in a surprisingly short time. 
The more cooperation you can get 
in this work the better, and a regular 
campaign of destruction should be 
organized if possible among the 
neighbors. 
While it is true that sparrows will 
nest in almost any properly sheltered 
place, perhaps their favorite site is 
a bird house put up for martins, blue¬ 
birds and the like. Once let a pair 
take possession of such a home and 
they will usually hold it against, all 
comers, but if the bottom of the box 
is hinged so that it can be opened 
from below, the nest may be readily 
and effectually broken up. Arrange 
the hinged bottom so that it is held 
closed by a , hook or turn-button 
which can be reached and operated 
by a P.ole, and when you judge the 
nest within is completed, unhook the 
bottom and let the contents of the 
box fall unceremoniously to the 
ground. 
Another plan to discourage the 
sparrows is to have the entrance 
opening of the box too small to ad¬ 
mit them. A circular doorway one 
inch in diameter will be large enough 
for house wrens, but not for spar¬ 
rows. Of course, it will not do for 
bluebirds or martins. 
POTSHOTTING SPARROWS 
The method second in importance 
for cutting down the _ sparrow sup¬ 
ply is, in my opinion, shooting. 
There are many occasions where this 
plan cannot be followed because of 
the proximity of other houses, etc., 
but on suburban and country places 
effective shooting can, with care, be 
done. 
The best plan is to bait the birds 
with grain, spreading it in a long, 
narrow strip on some level piece of 
ground, and allowing the flock, which 
will soon discover it, to feed there 
undisturbed for several days. Then 
secrete yourself about twenty-five 
yards away with a shotgun loaded 
with a heavy charge of No. 10 shot, 
and when the bunch has gathered for 
the feast, rake them fore and aft 
along the length of the_ grain strip. 
Often a single, well-directed shot 
will in this way account for thirty 
or forty birds, and, after a few days, 
you can repeat the performance in 
another place. In cases where the 
sparrows are accustomed to feed in 
chicken yards, a long board may be 
set up on posts, the grain scattered 
along it, and a shot fired without 
danger to the poultry. 
Another method of shooting is 
to use a .22 rifle and pick the birds 
off one by one as opportunity offers. 
This, of course, calls for a certain 
degree of skill and due care as to 
whither each bullet will go after it 
passes through or by the mark, but 
if practiced persistently its effect on 
the sparrow supply will be consider¬ 
able. A friend who lives at the edge 
of a small town tells me that with 
his .22 equipped with a telescope 
sight and a silencer he rarely fails to 
connect with one or two sparrows 
every morning before going to busi¬ 
ness, and his monthly total is as¬ 
tonishing. Let me repeat the cau¬ 
tion, however, to be very careful in 
what direction you shoot, for the tiny 
.22 bullets have a wicked speed that 
makes them really dangerous, even 
after they glance. 
Trapping Methods 
There are several more or less 
complicated sparrow traps now be¬ 
ing manufactured and used, but I 
doubt if any of them is more suc¬ 
cessful than the old-fashioned, simple 
“sieve” trap. This is merely a shal¬ 
low box four or five feet square, bot¬ 
tomless, and with a roof of 5^" mesh 
wire, the whole painted an incon¬ 
spicuous gray or green. This is laid 
on level ground, and one side is 
raised 18" or so by means of an 
upright stake driven into the 
earth, food being scattered inside 
and the sparrows allowed to come 
and go at will until they become thor¬ 
oughly convinced of its harmless¬ 
ness. Then substitute for the stake 
a straight stick, the lower end rest¬ 
ing on a chip or small stone, the 
upper end lightly supporting the trap, 
and having a long cord attached, 
which is carried to some place where 
you can watch without being ob¬ 
served. Now, when the flock is well 
within the trap and busy with the 
food, simply give the cord a strong 
jerk and let the whole contrivance 
fall on top of them. R. S. Lemmon. 
