Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 December 1891 — AFTER THE SPARROW. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AFTER THE SPARROW.

Tlio Feathered rent Now lloliiß Slaughtered In IlllnoD. The United States Is indebted to England for Its language, Its laws, many of its institutions, and, unfortunately, for the so-called English sparrow. This feathered pirate has engaged the attention of the lawmakers of Illinois, and at the lust session of the Legislature that bird was put in the same category with mad dogs, snakes, and other disagreeable things. The Agricultural Department of the Federal Government has had a dozen of scientific men investigating the sparrow and his hab-

its for several years past. The result of their investigations has been given to an expectant world in the shapeof a bulky volume of 400 pages, adorned with pictures of the imported pest in various attitudes, and with maps showing how much of the country he has already taken possession of. It may be said of the English sparrow as was said by the schoolboy who was told to define the manners and customs of the Fiji Islanders. The boy answered: “Manners, nonet customs, disgusting.” He could truthfully have said the same about the sparrow, and received a “perfect” mark for the recitation. That the Europeau sparrow is a dirty, destructive and useks* animal is beyond dispute. It is alleged that he devours the grubs and larvae of insects, but the truth is that he only does this when he cannot obtain other food. What he wants is grain, and this failing the buds and blossoms of trees suit him better than anything else. Ills apologists have claimed that he only tackles such buds as contain worms; and that therefore his presence on fruit trees is desirable, but the evidence does not bear out this claim. Many States offer bounties for the destruction of these pests, and the last Legislature added the jSucker State to the list. The law went into effect Dec. 1, and now every person who takes the f p irrow or head thereof in lots of ten to the county clerk is entitled to the bounty. Rkx-bf.oonias will root rapidly during the warm weather. Set tho leaves oogewise in sand, or la. them fiat on tho sand, staked down with bent toothpicks, being careful to keep the soil moist and partly shaded, and they will soon show Ufa.

THE ENGLISH SPARROW.