eee) Us Ome Uebel bN 41 
The utter folly of introducing European birds is by this time so well 
established that further demonstration or argument should be needless. 
Birds from overseas find conditions in America more favorable than in 
their congested homelands, and species which were harmless or even 
desirable in their natural habitats become prime nuisances when trans- 
planted. Strict laws to prohibit the liberation of foreign birds in this 
country should be enacted and enforced. 
Birds are beloved by thousands of Americans because they are a part 
of nature. Starlings and English sparrows are not a part of nature in this 
land. They are beyond the pale of the bird-lover’s sympathy, and even 
if they did no harm they would be regarded as undesirable interlopers. 
The fact that they do a great deal of harm both to our native bird life 
and to our practical interests should make it impossible for any crank 
to add other avian undesirables to our American fauna. 
Game and Fish Preserve Along the 
Mississipp1 River — 
(From Chicago Tribune of June 8th) 
ONGRESS, when it rushed away tonight, left behind its official 
stamp of approval on one bill that is going to bring joy to thou- 
sands of nature lovers and to millions of wild animals, birds, and fish. 
That is the McCormick-Hawes bill providing wild life preservations 
along the Mississippi as urged by the Izaak Walton club of Chicago and 
similar organizations. 
The bill, which went through both houses without opposition, 
authorizes an appropriation of $1,500,000 to purchase land along the 
Mississippi River from Rock Island, Ill., to Wabasha, Minn., to be held 
forever inviolate from the encroachment of huntsmen and fishermen. 
Altogether some 383,000 acres of land can be purchased. It is all 
overflow land of no value for agriculture and consequently can be 
bought cheaply. 
This land will be sacred to the birds and animals, while the creeks 
flowing through it and the rivers will be sacred to fish. They may live 
there, build homes, and raise offspring without fear of man. 
In Illinois, it is estimated, there will be 41,000 acres available, while 
in Wisconsin there will be 140,000 acres, 75,000 1n Iowa, and 87,000 in 
Minnesota. It is estimated that the cost of these lands will be much 
less than $5 an acre. 
