THE SPARROW PEST IN AMERICA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1534, 16 April 1887, Page 2

THE SPARROW PEST IN AMERICA.

The sparrow is attracting considerable attention m America at preient. A speaker at the Indiana State Horticultural Soolety'a meeting a short time ago states that they seldom eat insects, bat will feed them to the young birds ia the neßt. Professor Troop of Purdue University said that a member of a senior olaai of that institution had killed one or mora sparrows daily during a considerable • portion of the past summer, and examined the contents of their stomachs. In only one bird had he found the remains of an insect. J. 0, Ratcliff of Wayne Oonnty had seen fl >ok« of several hundred alight on his wheat field, five miles from any town or city, and eat. and waste the grain from large areas, They beat the ripened grain from Hie e.alk with their <vinge. They were still more destructive to grain m shook. Mr Folger said that they had entirely driven away 200 mai tins that formerly sheltered m his barn. Mr Ohmer formerly had plenty of aotg birds on his pace. Kow there wtw only the sparrow and robin. The time had come whun something must be done, Mr Webster had recently made an extended visit through the agricultural sections of TCurope. Found that sparrows were everywhere regarded as a nuisance, fn Germany he saw boys carrying hundreds of them strnag on sticks. They were taken to the village authorities, and the boyo received a half cent for each one killed. They were paying for their destruction everywhere. They were be* coming very destructive m this locality, Ec had found their ravages on his green peat particularly annoying. After further discussion m similar strain, and some words ia their defence by President Johnson and odo other member, J. C, Stevens of Wayne County introduced a resolution declaring them a nuisance and urging ex« termination, which was passed with bat one dissenting voice.