THE Waikato Independent. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1907.

Waikato Independent, Volume VI, Issue 384, 13 June 1907, Page 4

THE Waikato Independent. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1907.

While the Acclimatisation Societies of this colony may claim credit for a certain amount of good work, it is safe to say that the farmers and gardeners of New Zealand would bo considerably better off to-day had no such societies ever existed. While they cannot be charged with the introduction of the rabbit, they have been the direct cause of the importation of the small birds nuisance, which is yearly causing greater and greater havoc to our grain and fruit crops. This fact is borne out by a recent bulletin, issued by the Agricultural Department, regarding the small birds imported into the colony. The bulletin, in view of the small birds pest, makes interesting reading, and for the information of our readers we cull a few of the main facts contained therein. It is stated that the first sparrows were imported into Canterbury by mistake, the Acclimatisation Society having ordered the hedge sparrow, which is considered to be a lesser evil than the common or garden variety of sparrow, which was brought in. But the Otago Society made no mistake in the matter,' for in 1868-69 it liberated fourteen sparrows upon the unsuspecting farmers of that province. To-day it is probable that their progeny in Otago runs into many hundreds of thousands. Other societies followed the bad example of Otago, until we are told the colony was well stocked with sparrows. Probably the worst offender, with regard to the importation of the sparrow, was Sir Walter Duller, for it is stated that he pleaded guilty to having been accessory to the importation of sparrows into the Wanganui district in a wholesale manner. On behalf of the society there he actually advertised in the London papers, offering a reward of £IOO for 100 pairs of .sparrows delivered alive ! Naturally such a high price for the worthless 1 sparrow was eminently successful, and to the eternal detriment of Wellington farmers and fruit" growers, these birds were safely delivered m Wanganui. The remarkable feature of this importation to Wanganui, to our mind, is the fact that Sir Walter Buller, who was an authority on birds, should have known so little about the habits of sparrows as to assist the Acclimatisation Society in bringing them out here. But in those days no one seemed to have bothered his head about the damage such birds might cause in years to come. Not satisfied with introducing the sparrow pest, the societies turned their attention to vicing with each other, in offering big rewards to immigrants to bring out more bird pests from Groat Britain This faded, however, to catch on, so the societies, with a zeal, worthier of a better cause, paid money to agents and captains of vessels to bring out small birds. This led to more definite results, and linnets, skylarks, goldfinches, blackbirds, thrushes, etc., were thusly imported into the colony “inosli of which have so increased that they demand annually an ever-

increasing toll, upon the grain crops of the farmer and the fruit crops of every gardener in New Zealand. When we consider the evils the small bird pests are causing in the colony, owing to'the want of consideration and thought on the part of our Acclimatisation Societies in introducing them, it is little wonder that many people look upon the work done by Acclimatisation' Societies as far more of a curse than a blessing to the community. It is also with somewhat sardonic feelings that one reads in the bulletin, of the sentimental reasons given for the introduction of the small birds nuisance. These reasons arc sot forth as follows : ‘ The presence of the introduced birds seemed to fall in with the early colonists’ desire to make Canterbury as like England as possible. Their minds were full of the place they had left. The Old Country was their Holy Land, and anything that reminded them of it and its associations was given a hearty welcome.”