138 Bird -Lore nests and 1,000 eggs were destroyed. No young birds were found. The protest against the work, based mainly on senti- mental grounds, which Mr. Angell, of the S. P. C. A., put forth, resulted in two picturesque hearings at the City Hall. An account of these hearings, with some of their informal adjuncts, would certainly entertain and instruct the readers of Bird- Lore were it possible to embody it here. Let it suffice to say, that the weight of common sense, of real humanity, and of economics, as well as of science in over- whelming measure, was, in the judgment of the best informed, wholly with those who would reduce the Sparrow. The Mayor, however, decided to suspend the work, assigning as a reason the difficulty and expense of continuing it. The com- mittee sent to the Mayor a letter express- ing its regret that the work should thus be brought to an untimely close, and fully outlining plans for its continuance At the present writing, no definite prospect is in sight of the resumption of the work. The committee proposed, after the closure of the nesting orifices, to pull down by means of hooked poles such nests as were built by the Sparrows in the branches of the trees on the Common and Garden, timing visits so as to destroy nests and eggs only, thus preventing the hatching of young. With the onset of cold weather it was proposed to trap and destroy the Sparrow by devices which were already proved at once efficient and merciful. These two methods, aided, perhaps, by others, carefully planned to avoid cruelty, were the ones much relied on by the committee to do the needed work of clearance. After the stoppage of the work the Mayor wrote to Chairman Osgood, asking his opinion as to the advisability of putting up bird-houses on the Common, so built, without perches, as to keep out the Sparrow and admit the White-bellied Swallow, Bluebird and House Wren. Mr. Osgood replied in effect that perchless bird-houses, judging from recent evidence, would prob- ably invite and shelter the breeding of the Sparrow, and, with the Common still uncleared, would hardl)- aid in restoring any native bird. He was willing, under certain strict conditions, that the experi- ment should be tried purely as an experi- ment, provided that every box should be instantly removed upon proof that these perchless devices sheltered the Spar- row. He, however, expressed little hope that any good would come of such a measure beyond the absolute demonstra- tion, once for all, and publicly, that perch- less boxes were not Sparrow-proof. The " Sparrow committee"' could not advise the putting up of bird-boxes under existing circumstances, and if any are erected the responsibility for the trial will not rest in any way with this committee. At this writing, the Sparrows shut out from the tree orifices are building to some extent in the branches of the trees upon the Com- mon. To note how extensively this breed- ing is carried on this season, and to attain general information as to the presence of any native birds upon the Common and Garden, a patrol of the Boston Branch of the American Society of Bird Restorers has been assigned to observation work through the spring and summer. Results will be officially reported to the National Biological Survey (U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture) at Washington, D. C. Fletcher Osgood, Organizer and Manager of the American Society of Bird Restorers. Reports of Societies MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY In February and March, Mr. Ralph Hoffmann gave a course of eight lectures on birds, under the auspices of the Society. These were well attended, and not only increased the interest in bird study, but informed the public more fully of the work of the Society, and also added materially to the treasury. March 22nd, the Society held a ' Hat Show ' at the Vendome, which was a suc- cess. Many of the best milliners exhibited, and it served the purpose of interesting both milliners and public in the work of bird protection. In spite
