SECTION FIRST-SUMMARIES OF EVIDENCE.
IMPORTATION; SPREAD; INCREASE; CHECKS, INTRODUCTION OF THE SPARROW.
The English Sparrow[1] was first brought to this country, so far as authentic information has reached the Department, in the fall of 1850, when the Hon. Nicolas Pike and other directors of the Brooklyn Institute imported eight pairs into Brooklyn, N. Y.
As this first importation of Sparrows is of much interest, we give in full Mr. Pike's account of it and of the following importation a year or two later. He says:
"It was not till 1850 that the first eight pairs were brought from England to the Brooklyn Institute, of which I was then a director. We built a large cage for them, and cared for them during the winter months. Early in the spring of 1851 they were liberated, but they did not thrive.
"In 1853 a committee of members of the Institute was chosen for the re-introduction of these birds, of which I was chairman.
"Over $200 was subscribed for expenses. I went to Bngland in 1852, on my way to the consul-generalship of Portugal. On my arrival in Liverpool I gave the order for a large lot of Sparrows and song birds to be purchased at once. They were shipped on board the steam-ship Europa, if I am not mistaken, in charge of an officer of the ship. Fifty Sparrows were let loose at the Narrows, according to instructions, and the rest on arrival were placed in the tower of Greenwood Cemetery chapel. They did not do well, so were removed to the house of Mr. John Hooper, one of the committee, who offered to take care of them during the winter.
"In the spring of 1853 they were all let loose in the grounds of Greenwood Cemetery, and a man hired to watch them. They did well and multiplied, and I have original notes taken from time to time of their
increase and colonization over our great country."
- ↑ The true name of this bird is the "House Sparrow." The name "English Sparrow" is a misnomer, as the species is not ooufinod to England, but is native to nearly the whole of Europe. The fact that most of the birds brought to America came from England explains the origin of the misleading name by which it is now so widely known that any attempt to change it would be futile.
8404—Bull. 1—2 17
