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The Diiiei1 of Introducing Noxious Animals and

T. S. PALMER,

Assistant Chief of Biological Surrey.

Reprint from Yearbook of Department ok Agriculture for 1803.

11)007 1

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction _ 87

Means of dispersal 87

Domesticated species may become noxious 88

Sources of danger from noxious species 90

Rats and mice 91

Rabbits 93

The mongoose : 93

Ferrets, stoats, and weasels 96

Flying foxes, or fruit bats '. 96

The English sparrow 9S

The starling 101

The mina 103

The kohlmeise, or great titmouse 104

The skylark, green linnet, and black thrush 106

Need of legislation 108

Summary ... 109

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.

Page.

Plate VIII. Mongoose (Herpestes m u ngt ») 92

TEXT FIGURES.

Fig. 1. Flying fox (Pteropus sp. ) 97

2. Map showing spread of English sparrow in the United States !>(.»

3. Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 101

4. Mina (Acridotheres tristis) 103

5. Kohlmeise (Parns major) 104

6. Chickadee (Parus atricapillus) 104

u

THE DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS
AND BIRDS.

By T. S. Palmer.
Assistant ( 'hief of Biological Survey.

INTRODUCTION.

Acclimatization of plants and animals has attracted ail cut ion in
all parts of the world. Useful or curious species have been intro-
duced from one country to another with varying degrees of success;
some have failed while others have become acclimated, and occa-
sionally have increased to such an extent as to usurp the places of
native species. In comparing the results of the introduction of
plants and of animals, the important difference between these two
classes of experiments should not be lost sight of. Plants, on the one
hand, are introduced almost without exception for purposes of cultiva-
tion, and are therefore kept somewhat under control. Occasionally,
under favorable conditions, they "escape " and increase so rapidly that
they become troublesome weeds. Chicory and wild garlic of the
Eastern States and the water hyacinth of Florida are familiar exam-
ples of weeds originally introduced as useful or ornamental plants.
Animals, on the contrary, unless intended for pets or for exhibition
in menageries or zoological gardens, are seldom kept in captivity,
but are liberated and allowed to live as nearly as possible under nat-
ural conditions. Only the strongest and hardiest species survive,
and in adapting themselves to new surroundings necessarily eau^<-
sonu' change in the existing fauna. If prolific, they are Likely to
become abundant in a short time; if they crowd out indigenous spe-
cies, they are regarded as nuisances. Hence, it is sometimes said that
acclimatization ot animals has produced far less satisfactory results
than that of plants, but the comparison is made bet ween the relativeby
small number of animals, birds, and insects purposely imported and
allowed to run wild and a long list of useful and ornamental plants
carefully kept under cultivation.

MEANS OF DISPERSAL.

Animals are transported from one country to another or to distant
islands either by accident or by the direct agency of man. Horses,
cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, and cats are now almost cosmopolitan,
but they owe their wide distribution entirely to man, who has carried
them with him to all parts of the earth. Accidental distribution is

87

88 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

much less common in the ease of mammals and birds than among- the
smaller plants and insects, and species which have gained a foothold
in distant lands have almost always been intentionally introduced.

Certain small mammals have, however, accidentally found Their way
in vessels from one port to another. Two or three species of rats
and the house mouse of Europe have thus become widely dispersed
over the globe. Fruit vessels plying between ports of the United
States and Central or South America occasionally bring snakes,
small mammals, and insects in bunches of bananas. In November,
1895, a Central American mouse, of the genus Oryzomys, concealed in
a bunch of bananas shipped from Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, was cap-
tured alive in a commission house in Washington, D. C. A young
murine opossum from tropical America was discovered in a bunch of
bananas at Ames, Iowa, during the summer of 1882, and was kept
alive for some time. If such cases were frequent, it can be readily
seen how a species might gain a foothold in new regions, provided
the conditions were favorable for its increase.

During the last fifteen or twenty years Bering Island, one of the
Commander group in Bering Sea, has been overrun with the com-
mon Siberian red-backed mouse (JEvotomys rut this). This species
was formerly unknown on the islands, but has been introduced since
1870, probably in firewood brought from Kamchatka. Within ten
years it spread all over the island from the beaches to the mountains
in the interior. It occurs both in the swamps and on the sand dunes,
and has become a pest in the huts of the natives. In 1889 it was still
confined to Bering Island, but will probably reach Copper Island in
time.

DOMESTICATED SPECIES MAY BECOME NOXIOUS.

Domesticated animals, like cultivated plants, may run wild and
become so abundant as to be extremely injurious. AVild horses an-
said to have become so numerous in some parts of Australia that I hey
consume the feed needed for sheep and other animals, and hunters are
employed to shoot them. In some of the Western States they have
also become a nuisance, and in Nevada a law was passed in 1897 per-
mitting wild horses to be shot. Recent reports from Washington
indicate that cayuses are considered of so Little value thai they are
killed and used for bait in poisoning wolves and coyotes.

Pigs have run wild in some of the Southern States and also on cer-
tain islands, where, as on the Galapagos, they were originally intro-
duced to furnish food for crews of vessels in need of fresh meal.
According to Dr. i'inscli,' they were introduced into New Zealand by
Captain Cook about 1770, and soon becoming wild, increased to a
remarkable degree. A century later wild pigs were so abundant in
the flax thickets of the province of Taranaki, on the North Island,

1 Globus, LXIX, 1896, Nr. 2.

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS ANT) BIRDS. 89

that a hunter could shoot fifty in a single day. Dr. Finsch also cites
a case mentioned by Eochstetter in which 25,000 wild pigs were said
to have been killed by three hunters in less than two years.

Sheep and goats when numerous arc likely to cause widespread
injury, particularly in forested regions. An instructive example of
the damage done by goats is thai on St. Helena, described by Wallace.1
St. Helena is a mountainous island scarcely 50 square miles in extent,
and its highest summits reach, an elevation of 2, 700 feet. A1 the time
of its discovery, about the beginning of the sixteenth century, it is
said to have been covered by a dense forest; to-day it is described as
a comparatively barren rocky desert. This change has been Largely
broughl about by goats first introduced by the Port uguese in L513, and
which multiplied so fast that in seventy-five years they existed by
thousands. Browsing on the young trees and shrubs, they rapidly
brought about the destruction of the vegetation which protected the
steep slopes. With the disappearance of the undergrowth, began the
washing of the soil by tropical rains and the destruction of the forests.
In 1709 the governor reported that the timber was rapidly disappear-
ing and that the goats should be destroyed if the forests were to be
preserved. This advice was not heeded, and only a century later, in
1810, another governor reported the total destruction of the forests
by the goats, and in consequence an expense of $13,600 (£2,729) in
one year for the importation of fuel for Government use.

The Santa Barbara Islands, off the coast of southern ( ialifornia, and
the island of Guadalupe, off the Lower California coast, are utilized
as ranges for goats. All these islands are dry and more or less covered
with brush, but arborescent vegetation is comparatively scarce. The
goats practically run wild, and already exist in considerable numbers.
( Mi Santa Catalina, one of the Santa Barbara group, wild-goat hunting
is one of the diversions afforded tourists, and is considered one of the
principal attractions of this popular summer resort. As yet the goats
have not been on the islands long enough to cause any serious effects
on the vegetation, and they may never bring about the ruin which has
been wrought on St. Helena. But it is scarcely possible for the islands
to be grazed by goats for an indefinite length of time without suffering
serious damage.

House cats are often greater pests than commonly supposed.
When numerous about the suburbs of cities and towns, they are
apt to forage for a living either from necessity or choice, and their
food is by no means confined to rats and mice. They are constantly
on the watch for birds, but it is impossible even to estimate how
many they destroy. It is certain, however, that in some places the
decrease in native birds is largely due to their presence. Where
cats have run wild on isolated islands, their work can be more readily
appreciated. On Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, they were

'Island Life. 1880, pp. 283-286.

90 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

introduced about 1880 and rapidly exterminated the rabbits, which
had been in possession of the island for half a century. In one of the
harbors of Kerguelen Island, southeast of the Cape of Good Hope, cats
were allowed to run wild upon a little islet known as Cat Island, which
has been used as a wintering place for sealers for many years. Here
they live in holes in the ground, preying upon sea birds and their
young, and are said to have developed such extraordinary ferocity
that it is almost impossible to tame them even when captured young.
Dr. W. L. Abbott states that on Aldabra, about 200 miles northwest of
Madagascar, cats are common on the main island, and have com-
pletely exterminated the flightless rail (Rougetius alddbranus), an
interesting bird, peculiar to this group of islands. They are also
numerous on Clorioso Island, 120 miles to the southeast, and in con-
sequence birds are less common even than on Aldabra.1

The Chatham Islands, 500 miles east of New Zealand, were
colonized about fifty years ago; cats, dogs, and pigs were introduced,
and the native birds, represented by fifty-five species, including
thirteen not found elsewhere, have since greatly decreased in num-
bers. Two of the most interesting birds are land rails of the genus
Cabalus. Dr. Dieffenbach, naturalist of the New Zealand Company,
who visited the islands in 1840, states that one of these rails {Cabalus
dieffenbach /), called by the natives "meriki," was formerly com-
mon, but since the introduction of cats and dogs it has become very
scarce. It is now probably extinct, and the closely related species
C. modesius will doubtless soon suffer a similar fate, since the islet of
Mangare, to which it is confined, has recently been invaded by cats.2

SOURCES OF DANGER FROM NOXIOUS SPECIES.

The animals and birds which have thus far become most trouble-
some when introduced into foreign lands are nearly all natives of
the Old World. The mammals belong to three. orders: (1) Rodents,
including rats of two or three species, the house mouse, and rabbit
of western Asia or southern Europe; (2) Carnivores, represented by
the stoat, weasel, and common house cat of Europe, and the mon-
goose of India; (3) Cheiroptera, represented by large fruit-eating bats
or flying foxes of Australia and the Malay Archipelago. Flying foxes
have not yet been actually introduced, but are likely to be carried to
different islands in the Pacific, and are dangerous because of their
depredations on fruit. The birds comprise the house sparrow and
starling of Europe, and the mina of India. Other species, usually
regarded.as beneficial in their native homes, such as the European
skylark, green linnet, black thrush or blackbird, and the great tit-
mouse or kohlmeise, are likely to prove injurious in new surround-
ings. Most of these species have extended their range from the east

1 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, 1894, pp. 76^. 764.
-'Forbes. Ibis, 6th ser., V, 1893, pp. 523, 531-533.

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 91

toward I he west, although the minus have been carried in i he opposite
direction to New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, and flying foxes
arc likely to extend northward and eastward. The main danger for I he
United Slates lies in species native to central and southern Europe
and western Asia, but tropical species, particularly of India, inighl
become acclimated in the Southern States. In order to show how
these animals and birds have already spread, and the damage they
have done, it will be necessary to refer briefly to the history of each
species.

RATS AND MICE.

Rats and mice are among the greatest pests with which man has to
contend, and the annoyance and damage which they occasion are
beyond computation. They are ubiquitous, abundant alike in the
largest cities and on the most distant islands of the sea. They have
not been intentionally introduced anywhere, but have found their
way by means of vessels to all parts of the earth. Small islands, pop-
ulated with rats from wrecks, or otherwise, are occasionally overrun
by these animals. On the island of Aldabra, already mentioned, rats
fairly swarm, and are very destructive to the gigantic native land
tortoise, eating the young as soon as they are hatched. Sable Island,
off the coast of Nova Scotia, has suffered from several plagues of rats,
and it is said that the first superintendent of the light station and his
men were at one time threatened with starvation owing to the inroads
made on their stores by rats.

The common brown rot. — The common brown rat, known also as the
wharf rat and Norway rat {Mus decumanus), was originally a native
of western China,1 and until two hundred years ago was unknown in
Europe or America. It is very prolific, producing from fourto twelve
young at a birth several times a year, and has spread so rapidly that
at the present time it is nearly cosmopolitan. In the autumn of L727
large numbers of brown rats entered Europe by swimming across the
Volga, and, gaining a foothold in the province of Astrakan in eastern
Russia, spread westward over central Europe. Five years later (17.'):.1)
they reached England by vessels from western India. The brown rat
appeared in east Prussia about 1750, and in Denmark and Switzerland
in L809. It reached the eastern coast of the United States about 1775,
and in 1825, according to Sir John Richardson, had extended as far
west in Canada as Kingston, Ontario. By 1855 it was abundant ai sev-
eral points on the Pacific coast, including San Francisco, Cal. ; Astoria,
Oreg., and Steilacoom, Wash., and its range on the west coast now
extends as far north as Alaska, at Sitka, Kadiak, and even Unalaska.

1 Blanford (Mammals of India, 1888-1891 . p. 409), who gives Chinese Mongolia as
its probable original habitat, states that it is not indigenous to India, and is
unknown in Persia and Afghanistan, but suggests that it will probably be intro-
duced into the two latter countries as soon as wheeled vehicles take the place of
pack animals.

92 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

At the present time it is probably abundant in all the larger cities of
the United States except in the South, where it is replaced by another
species.

Tht black, or house, rat. — The black rat, or house rat (Mus rattus),
was in all probability originally a native of Asia. The time of its
introduction into Europe is uncertain, but in the middle ages it was
the common house rat of central Europe. The date of its introduc-
tion into the New World is placed as early as 1544, or more than
two hundred years previous to that of the brown rat. It evidently
became very generally distributed along the coasts and in the principal
seaports, and by the middle of the present century was known as far
north as Halifax and Montreal, Canada, and on the Pacific coast at San
Diego and Humboldt Bay, California. Since the introduction of the
brown rat, the black rat has become comparatively rare in most places
where the former is abundant. In the Laccadive Islands, in the Indian
Ocean, the black rat seems to have modified its habits and become
arboreal. It is said to live in the crowns of the cocoanut trees with-
out descending to the ground, and to do great damage by biting off
the nuts, upon which it feeds, before they are ripe.

The roof, or white-bellied, rat. — The roof rat, or white-bellied rat
{Mus alexandrinus), is a native of Egypt, Nubia, and northern
Africa, and evidently found its way to America by way of Italy and
Spain at an early date. It probably reached this continent long
before the brown rat, but the exact date of its arrival is uncertain.
It is common in Brazil, in some parts of Mexico, and in the southern
United States, and is known to occur at least as far north as the Dis-
mal Swamp, in southern Virginia.

Tin housi mouse. — The well-known house mouse (Mu, s musculus)
is readily distinguished from the native white-bellied mice of North
America by its nearly uniform brownish color above and below. It
is a native of Europe and central Asia, but now occurs all over the
world. In the United States it is found from Florida to Maine, and
from San Diego to the Pribilof Islands. It is not restricted to the
seaports, as it made its way inland at an early date. Sir John Rich-
ardson, in 1829, mentions having seen a dead mouse in the store-
house of the Hudson Bay Company, at York Factory, among packages
of goods brought over from England, and states that the house- mouse
was introduced at Engineer Cantonment, on the Missouri River, near
Council Bluffs, Iowa, by Long's Expedition in 1810-20. By 1855 it was
found at many points in the interior, such as Prairie Mer Rouge, La. ;
Foil Riley, Ivans.; Fort Pierre, S. Dak.; Fort Redding, Cal., and
Pa it as, Coahuila, Mexico. It has even penetrated to such points as
the Huachuca Mountains in Arizona, where it was introduced about
1891 in a wagonload of seed grain. It reached Bering Island, one
of the Commander group off, Kamchatka, Ln 1870, in a cargo of flour
shipped from San Francisco in the schooner Justus. In the southern

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 93

hemisphere it occurs at Punta Arenas, Patagonia, and is common in
such out-of-the-way places as Gough Island, in the middle of the
South Atlantic, and Kerguelen Island, southeasl oi the Cape of Good
Hope. In short, its distribution is apparently limited only by the
Arctic and Antarctic circles.

The common rabbit of Europe (Lepus cuniculus) was originally
introduced into Australia for purposes of sport, and the results of the
experiment are so well known that anything more than a brief refer-
ence to them is unnecessary. Suffice it to say that the rabbits were
liberated near Melbourne about 1864, and by 1878 had extended west-
ward over Victoria and beyond the Murray River. They were also
introduced into Tasmania and New Zealand, and spread over the
country like a scourge. So rapidly did they multiply that in 1870
legislative action for their destruction was begun in South Australia,
and the example was soon followed by New Soul h Wales, New Zealand,
Queensland, and Tasmania. At the present time their range in Aus-
tralia is probably equal in area to that of our three largest Stabs
Texas, California, and Montana. Millions of dollars have been spent
for bounties, poisons, and various other methods of destruction;
thousands of miles of rabbit-proof fences have been built, and hun-
dreds of schemes for destroying the animals have been suggested, but
nothing has yet been found that will effectually exterminate the pest.
Natural enemies, such as cats and other carnivorous animals, have
been introduced, and in certain parts of New Zealand at least have
become almost as much a pest as the rabbits they were intended to
kill. In 1887 no less than 19,182,539 rabbits were destroyed in New
South Wales alone, but despite the efforts of the Government and
private landowners the rabbits seem to be still increasing. In the
meantime, a great industry has grown up in the export of rabbit
skins. For the last five years New Zealand has been shipping an
average of about 15,000,000 per annum, and since 187:; has exported
more than 200,000,000. Recently, canning rabbit meat for export to
European markets is assuming larger proportions and gives promise
of developing into an important industry.

THE MONGOOSE.

The common mongoose of India (H< rpi sti s mungo or H. grisi us, PI.
VIII) is a well-known destroyer of rats, lizards, and snakes, and has
been introduced into Jamaica and other tropical islands for the pur-
pose of ridding cane fields of rats. The annual loss which the island of
Jamaica formerly suffered on account of the ravages of the introduced
black rats (Mas rattus) and brown rats (J/, decumanus), and the
so-called "cane-piece rat," including the expense of destroying these
pests, was estimated at £100,000, or $500,000. Various remedieswere

94 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

tried, but apparently with little success, until in February, 1872, Mr.
W. Bancroft Espeut introduced nine individuals of the mongoose, four
males and five females, from India. These animals increased with
remarkable rapidity, and soon spread to all parts of the island, even
to the tops of the highest mountains. A decrease in the number of
rats was soon noticeable, and in 18S2, ten years after the first intro-
duction, the saving to the sugar planters was said to be £45,000, or
8225,000, per annum.

Still the mongoose increased, and its omnivorous habits became
more and more apparent as the rats diminished. It destroyed young
pigs, kids, lambs, kittens, puppies, the native "coney," or capromys,
poultry, game, birds which nested on or near the ground, eggs, snakes,
ground lizards, frogs, turtles' eggs, and land crabs. It was also known
to eat ripe bananas, pineapples, young corn, avocado pears, sweet
potatoes, cocoanuts, and other fruits. Toward the close of the second
decade the mongoose, originally considered very beneficial, came to
be regarded as the greatest pest ever introduced into the island.
Poultry and domesticated animals suffered from its depredations, and
the short-tailed capromys {Capromys br achy urus), which was formerly
numerous, became almost extinct except in some of the mountainous
districts. The ground dove (Columbigallina passi rina) and the quail
dove {Geotrygon montana) became rare, and the introduced bobwhite,
or quail, was almost exterminated. The peculiar Jamaica petrel
(JEstvelata caribbma), which nested in the mountains of the island,
likewise became almost exterminated. Snakes, represented by at
least five species, all harmless, and lizards, including about twenty
species, were greatly diminished in numbers. The same thing was
true of the land and fresh-water tortoises and the marine turtle
(Chelont viridis), which formerly laid its eggs in abundance in the
loose sand on the north coast. The destruction of insectivorous
birds, snakes, and lizards was followed by an increase in several
injurious insects, particularly ticks, which became a serious pest,
and a Coccid moth, the larvae of which bore into the pimento trees.
In 1890 a commission was appointed by the Government to consider
whether measures should be taken to reduce the number of the
animals, and the evidence collected showed conclusively that the evil
results of the introduction of the mongoose far outweighed the bene-
fits rendered to the sugar and coffee plantations.

Recently there has been a change in the situation, and the mon-
goose is now reported as decreasing, while certain birds and reptiles,
particularly the ground lizard, are increasing. Quail and pigeons
are reported as more numerous, and there is less complaint concerning
the destruction of poultry. Thus, Jamaica seems to have passed the
high-water mark of loss occasioned by rats and by the mongoose, and
while its fauna has been modified by (he presence of the intruders.
both native and introduced species are gradually accommodating

Yearbook U. S. Dept of Agriculture,

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 95

themselves to the changed conditions, and a new balance of nature
is being established.1

According to Mr. Espeut,2 who originally introduced the mongoose
into Jamaica, large numbers of the animals have been scut to Cuba,
Puerto Rico, Grenada, Barbados, Santa Cruz, and elsewhere, bu1 the
fate of these shipments, made at least sixteen years ago, is now un-
known. It is now established on Haiti, as shown by the capture of a
specimen at Santo Domingo City in the winter of L895, and is gen-
erally distributed over the island of Puerto Rico. It is also presenl
on the island of Vieques, east of Puerto Rico, and is abundant on
St, Thomas. During a recent visit Mr. A. Ii. Baker found it along
the coast of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, San Juan, Fajardo, Arroyo,
Ponce, and Mayaguez, and in the interior at Utuado and Ad.juntas.
It was introduced at San Juan about 1877-7!), and although now
becoming a nuisance, is considered beneficial by the sugar planters
who claim that the rats, which were formerly very destructive to
cane, now do little damage. These rats often live in the tops of
the royal and cocoa palms and destroy cocoanuts as well as sugar
cane.

The first efforts to introduce the mongoose into the Hawaiian Islands
were made about 1881, when a few individuals of a huge species were
brought from the East Indies and liberated on a sugar plantation in
the district of Hamakua on Hawaii. These animals did not breed
and soon disappeared. A few months later a few pairs of a smaller
species wero imported from Calcutta, but nearly all were accidentally
drowned while being landed near Hilo. Soon afterwards 75 individ-
uals were imported from Jamaica by the planters of Hilo, and later
215 more were imported for Hamakua. Here the mongoose is aiding
in the rapid extermination of some of the native birds, particularly
the Hawaiian goose (Nesocht n sandvici nsis), which is found only on
those islands above an altitude of 4,000 feet, and the Hawaiian duck
(Anas wyvilliana), also a peculiar species. According to .Mr. II. W.
Henshaw this duck was common about Hilo four years ago, but in
1898 none were left anywhere in this region. As in Jamaica, the
depredations of rats in the cane fields diminished with the increase of
the mongoose, but the latter soon became so abundant that measures
beca me necessary to keep it under control. In 1892 a law was passed
forbidding the introduction, breeding, or keeping of the mongoose in
the islands, and the sum of 81,000 was appropriated for the payment
of bounties on animals killed on the island of Oahu. These rewards,
not to exceed 25 cents per head, were to be paid by the Minister of
the Interior, but apparently no applications were made for them, the
animals being regarded as a necessary evil in the sugar-cane districts.

'See Duerden. Journ. Inst. Jamaica, II, 1896, pp. 273-275.

-Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1882, p. 714.

3 Elliott, Field Columbian Mus., Zool. Ser.. I, 1896, p. 82.

96 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Attempts at introduction in other countries have not succeeded
so well. The mongoose was introduced into the Fiji Islands, prob-
ably about 1870, but apparently has not increased to the extent to
which it has in Hawaii. Early in the eighties several experiments
were made in Australia, which resulted in failure. More than a
hundred individuals were liberated near the Murray River, and
others in New South Wales. An experiment was also made in New
Zealand, but apparently without much success.1 In February, 1892,
it was erroneously reported that the Department of Agriculture was
about to introduce the mongoose into the United States for the pur-
pose of destroying gophers in the West. Although founded on a
mistake, and speedily corrected, the rumor was so well heralded by
the press that it attracted widespread attention. Persons who were
familiar with the situation in Jamaica and Hawaii protested vigor-
ously against the supposed experiment. Others, ignorant of the
animal's past record and anxious to try some new method of extermi-
nating gophers, prepared to obtain specimens from Honolulu. By
the most strenuous efforts these importations were prevented, and
as yet the mongoose is not known to have gained a foothold on this
continent.

FERRETS, STOATS, AND WEASELS.

In the attempt to check the rabbit pest in Xew Zealand, recourse
has been had to the importation of natural enemies, such as ferrets,
stoats (Putorius ermineus), and weasels (P. nivalis). In the Waira-
rapa district some GOO ferrets, 300 stoats and weasels, and 300 cats
had been turned out previous to 1887. Between January, 1887,
and June, 1888, contracts were made by the Government for nearly
22,000 ferrets, and several thousand had previously been liberated on
Crown and private lands. Large numbers of stoats and weasels have
also been liberated during the last fifteen years. This host of preda-
tory animals speedily brought about a decrease in the number of
rabbits, but its work wras not confined to rabbits, and soon game birds
and other species were found to be diminishing. The stoat and the
weasel are much more bloodthirsty than the ferret, and the widespread
destruction is attributed to them rather than to the latter animal.
Now that some of the native birds are threatened with extermination,
it lias been suggested to set aside an island along the New Zealand
coast where the more interesting indigenous species can be kept safe
from their enemies and saved from complete extinction.

FLYING FOXES, OR FRUIT BATS.

On August 4, 1893, the steamer Monowai from Australia arrived at
San Francisco, having on board a fruit-eating bat, or flying fox. The
animal had taken refuge on 1 lie steamer off the coast of Australia,

1 Final Rept. Royal Comiu. Inquiry Exterm. Rabbits Australasia, 1890, p. 9.

DANGEB OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 97

and was captured and kept as a pel by one of the passengers.
It was promptly killed by the quarantine officer at San Francisco,
and four more, which arrived in captivity two months Later from
China, on the steamer Eio dt Jam iro, met the same fate Attention
was called to the danger of the new pest, and one of the regulations
adopted by the State hoard of horticulture in bhe following year pro-
hibited the importation of these animals into California.

Flying foxes belong to the genus Pti ropus (fig. l >, one of the best-
known groups of fruit-eating bats. The genus includes some fifty
species which are found in the tropics of the Old World, from Mada-
gascar and the Comoro Islands east to Australia, and the Samoan
islands, and north to India, Malay Archipelago, and southern Japan.
Five species occur in Australia, two of them as far south as New South
Wales (hit, 35° S.), but none are
found in Xew Zealand or in the Ha-
waiian Islands. The largest species
is the Kalong or Malay fruit bat
(Pteropus edulis), which measures
more than 5 feet across the tips of
the wings.

In Australia these bats are de-
scribed as living- in immense commu-
nities or "camps"' in the most inac-
cessible parts of the dense scrub of
gullies and swamps. Here they may
be seen by thousands, frequently
crowded so thickly on the trees that
large branches are broken by their
weight. They fly considerable dis-
tances in search of food, sallying
forth in Hocks about sunset and re-
turning to their camps before dawn.
In New South Wales, and more espe-
cially in Queensland, flying foxes are one of the worst pests of the fruit
grower, and are described as a plague which threatens the fruit-growing
industry in a large part of Australia. They are particularly injurious
to tigs, bananas, peaches, and other soft fruit, and it is est [mated that
the damage done to orchards in the coast district of New South Wales
amounts to many thousands of pounds annually. Various expedients
have been suggested to protect orchards from their depredations.
Rags dipped in melted sulphur and hung among the branches, netting
placed over the trees, and wires suspended around the lives, and even
stretched close together from poles and covering the whole orchard
Have been tried, but apparently without much success. The most prac-
tical method is to destroy the bats in their camps. A few years ago the
Minister for Mines and Agriculture for New South Wales supplied

from Proceedings
London. 1874).

Zoological

98 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

ammunition for this purpose and, after considerable expenditure of
powder and slid . about 100,000 foxes were destroyed at a cost of about
30 cents apiece. Wholesale destruction with dynamite was suggested
and experiments with high explosives were made by the department
of agriculture. Chargesof roburite (1 to 4 pounds) and gun cotton (2£
pounds), connected with wires so that they could be fired by an electric
current, were placed in the branches of trees where the bats were
accustomed in roost. The bats carefully avoided the trees in which
explosives were hung, and when the charges were fired none were
killed, even among those roosting in neighboring trees.1

Since nearly all the species of flying foxes are natives of the Trop-
ics, it is hardly likely that they could gain a foothold in the United
States, exeepl in the South, but there is a serious danger of their
introduction into the Hawaiian Islands by means of vessels plying
between Honoluluand the Orient, the South Sea Islands, and Australia.

THE ENGLISH SPARROW.

The house sparrow, better known in America as the English spar-
row (Passi r domesticus), is a common bird of north central Eurasia.
11 is said to range as far north as latitude 07° in Europe and to lati-
tude 61 in Asia. The damage which it does in destroying fruit and
-rain, in disfiguring buildings in cities and towns, and in driving
away other birds, makes it one of the worst of feathered pests. The
rapidity with which it increases in a new locality is scarcely more
remarkable than the persistency and care which have been displayed
in introducing it into foreign lands, in spite of the warnings of per-
sons familiar with its habits. It has gained a foothold on all of the
continents, and has been transported to some of the most distant
islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. In North America it has
not increase* 1 very rapidly north of the Transition zone nor in the Lower
Austral, bin wherever it has become at all abundant efforts to exter-
minate it have been practically futile.

The English sparrow was first introduced into the United states
by a gentleman of Brooklyn, N. V., who broughl over eight pairs
from Europe in the fall of L850 and liberated them in the fol-
lowing spring. These birds did not thrive, and in L852 a second
importation was made. In 1854 and 1858 the sparrow was introduced
at Portland, Me., and in the latter year at- lVacedale, K. I., and a few
birds escaped a1 Boston, Mass. During the next decade it was im-
ported direct from Europe 1<» eight other cities, and in one case 1,000
birds were sent io Philadelphia in a single lot; birds were also dis-
tributed from the colonies a 1 ready start ed in this country. by L870
it had become established as far south as Columbia, S. (1, Louisville,
Ky.. and Galveston, Tex.; as far west as St. Louis, Mo., and Daven-
port, Iowa, and as far north as Montreal, Canada, thus gaining a

lAgr. Gazette, New South Wales. I, 1890, p. 105.

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 99

foothold in twenty States, the District of Columbia, and two provinces
in Canada.

Between L870 and 1880 ii was estimated thai its range had been
extended by nearly 16,000 square miles, and isolated colonies were
established at San Francisco (1871-72) and Sail Lake City, Utah
(is;:;). During the nexl five years ii spread over more than 500,000
square miles, and in 1886 had become established in thirty-five States
and five Territories, occupying practically all of the region easl of
the Mississippi River (except portions of Florida, Alabama, and Mis-
sissippi), as well as parts of eighl States in the West. Its range was
estimated to cover 1,033,000 square miles, including its. into square
miles in Canada.

Pig. 2.— Map showing spread of English sparrow in the United States: The entire shaded area
represents approximately the present distribution of the sparrow: triangles indicate colonies
in 1860: black spots, colonies in 1870; circles, isolated colonies in ;s-.ii: dotted area, range in
1886: lined area, extension of range up to end of 1898.

At the present time (1808) only three States (Montana, Nevada, and
Wyoming) and three Territories (Alaska. Arizona, and New Mexico)
are apparently free from the sparrow. Its range ex1 ends west ward 1 1 1
the Great Plains and in Colorado to the Rocky Mountains, and also
occupies considerable areas in Utah and central California. (Sec fig 2. i

The true character of the bird is now so well known that it is
unnecessary to dwell on its injuries to fruit and grain, the nuisance
it has become in large cities, and the extent to which it has replaced
native birds. The ill-directed care and energy expended on introduc-
ing and fostering it thirty years ago are largely responsible for the
marvelous rapidity of its distribution. Now, when too late, efforts at
extermination have been begun, and four States (Illinois, Michigan,
< >hio, and Utah) have offered bounties for its destruction, the expend-
itures in Illinois (1891-1895) and Michigan (1887-1895) amounting
to about 1117,500.

10<> YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Besidesthe United States, New Zealand and Australia have suffered
considerably from the English sparrow, and in some of the colonies of
Australia it is considered second only to the rabbit as a pest. It seems
to have been introduced on the North Island of New Zealand in 18G6,
by the Wanganui Acclimatization Society.1 By L870 it began to be
numerous, and twelve years later threatened to spread over the whole
island, becoming established in the most inaccessible regions, in spite
of its usual partiality for cities and towns. In Victoria the sparrow
was introduced about 1865, and probably appeared soon after in
Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, but
data are lacking as tothedateof itsfirsl appearance in these colonies.
It has increased so rapidly that, in order to hold it in check, "Sparrow-
destruction" bills have been passed in several of the colonies during
the last ten years.

Thus far 1 he sparrow has not gained a foothold in Western Australia,
and radical measures have been adopted to prevent its introduction,
lis importal ion was prohibited by the " Destructive birds and animals
act," passed in L893, and when a few birds were discovered in Perth in
January. L898, prompt measures for their extermination were taken
by the bureau of agriculture. All that could be found were shot, and
attention was called to the necessity of stamping out the pest before
it spread beyond control.

The English sparrow has also found its way into many otherdistant
corners of the earth. It is gaining a foothold in Argentina, and has
been carried to remote islands. In the Indian Ocean it is present on
Mauritius, about 400 miles east of Madagascar, and on the Comoro
Islands, off the southeast coast of Africa and 350 miles northwest of
Madagascar. It was first reported from Grand Comoro in 1879. In
the PacificOcean it has been introduced on the Chatham Islands, some
500 miles east of New Zealand,2 probably on New Caledonia, and on
the Hawaiian Islands. In the latter group it is reasonable to sup-
pose that it was introduced by way of San Francisco in the early
seventies, since it was reported to be numerous at Honolulu in L879.
In the Atlantic Ocean it is present on Bermuda, the Bahamas, and
Cuba. It was sent to Bermuda from New York about L874, and two
years later was given the same protection accorded to other birds,
its destruction being punished by a line of .'. to 20 shillings. Ten
years after its introduction it had increased so enormously that a
bounty was offered for its destruction, and between L884 and 188G
about £530(82,650) were expended, without causing any appreciable
decrease in its numbers, notwithstanding the short time the bird had
been present and the fact that the islands have an area of less than
20 square miles. It is said to have been imported into Cuba, and in

1 Rept. New Zealand Dept. Agriculture, L897, 1)iv. Biology, p. 8.
[bis, 1893, p. 543.

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 101

1877 was reported to have been introduced on New Providence, Baha-
mas, "within the last few years." It has not, however, increased
rapidly on either island, for in ls'.H it was reported as still not
abundant, and apparently had not extended its range to any of the
neighboring islands.

THE STARLING.

The starling (Sfiirmis vulgaris, fig. .'3) of Europe and western Asia
is one of the best known birds of the Old World, and during late
years has been increasing in numbers in the British Isles. It is some-
times accused of stealing fruit and destroying nests and eggs of ol her
birds, but in its native home it seems to be beneficial rather than
otherwise. Comparatively little accurate information concerning its

Mg&M L^iL-

Fig. 3.— Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

food habits is available, except the results of an examination of 175
stomachs recently made in Scotland by Mr. John Gilmour.1 Accord-
ing to this examination the food consists of 75 per cent insects, 20
per cent grain (mainly waste grain), and 5 per cent miscellaneous
substances. Some useful insects were eaten, but the greater proportion
were classed as injurious. The charge of dest roving eggs of larks, and
occasionally young nestlings, was not substantiated, as no eggshells
were found in these stomachs. Mr. Gilmour calls attention to the
rapid increase of starlings in Fifeshire, thousands now existing where
fifty or sixty years ago they were considered rare, and mentions the
serious damage sometimes done to shrubs and young plantations when
occupied as roosting places, but concludes that on the whole the bird
is beneficial and worthy of protection.

1 Trans. Highland and Agr. Soc, Scotland, 189(3.
19G07 2

102 YEARBOOK (>F THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Several attempts have been made to introduce this species into the
United States, bul asyel it lias hardly obtained a foothold. One of the
firsl importations was made by the Acclimatization Society of Cincin-
nati, Ohio, in the winter of L872-73. About 1877 a number of star-
lings were liberated in Central Park, New York, by the American
Acclimatization Society, and several similar experiments have .since
been made, bill only the last seems to have met with success. About
60 birds were released in L890. Some of them have bred for several
years, and. leaving the park, have established themselves in favorable
places in the neighborhood. In L893 and L894 flocks of as many as 50
individuals were reported to have been seen in the suburbs about the
northern end of the city, and late in 1898 a flock of about 30 took
up residence at Sing Sing. During the last two or three years a few
have been seen on Long Island, about Brooklyn. Thirty-five pairs
were liberated at Portland, Oregon, in 1880 and 1892, where they are
said to have done remarkably well, and as recently as June, 1898,
a few were seen about the suburbs. In the autumn of 1897 it
was repotted that starlings were to be imported for the city park
at Allegheny, Pa., but as yet only a dozen or fifteen seem to have
been introduced, and these have been carefully kept in captivity for
breeding, with the intention of ultimately stocking the park.

.Much has been said concerning the advantages of introducing the
starling into this country, but in spite of the many arguments brought
forward, the bird's character is not above suspicion, and its useful-
ness is si ill open to question. The fact seems to have been overlooked
thai in other countries the starling has signally failed to fulfill the
expectations concerning its usefulness. Certainly the experience of
Australia and New Zealand offers little encouragement. It was intro-
duced in New Zealand in 1807, and as early as 1870 was reported as
iw becoming very numerous." It seems to have increased very rapidly,
and in spite of its natural preference for insects, in its new home it has
adopted a fruit diet to such an extent as to become a great pest.1 In
South Australia it was reported to be common in certain localities in
L894, and measures for its extermination were considered. In Victo-
ria, on the other hand, steps were taken in 1895 to promote its increase
in fruit and grain growing districts, and this fact was used as an
argument in its favor by persons who were endeavoring to introduce
it into some of the other colonies. Western Australia has taken a
firm stand on the question, and Mr. R. Helms, biologist of the bureau
of agriculture of thai colony, who opposed the proposed importation,
gives his reasons as follows:

Had I been asked fifteen or twenty years ago what I had to say, I would prob-
ablj have recommended their introduction. But not so now. My experience has

1 It is also interesting to note that nearly twenty years ago an eminent English
ornithologist predicted that in foreign countries the starling would undoubtedly
aid in destroying native birds. (Newton in YarrelPs British Birds. 4th ed., II,
L876-188I3.)

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 103

taught me better. The birds were introduced more than fifteen years ago into
New Zealand, and now, like the thrushes, they have become a pest to fruit
growers. They have changed their habit from being principally insectivorous
to having become omnivorous.'

After due deliberation, the Government issued a proclamation on
January 22, 1896, declaring the starling a destructive bird and abso-
lutely prohibiting its importation into Western Australia. Stillmore
recently it has been condemned in Tasmania, where it is charged

with committing depredations on small fruits, cherries, and wheat

SN5k % v/

i&~~-l

r/ /v

Fig. 4.— Mina

Its further distribution has been discouraged, and when the question
of introducing several species of birds was under discussion at an
agricultural conference at Scottsdale on December 6, L897, the starling
was promptly rejected. a

THE MIX A.

The mina, or mynah (AcridotJu n s tristis, fig. 4), is common through-
out most of India, except Kashmir and Tenasserim. In its habits it

1 Producers' Gazette, Western Australia. V. January. 1898, p. 29.

'Agr. Gazette, Tasmania, V, November. 1897. p. 66; January, 1*98, p. 103.

104 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

is somewhat like our native grackles or crow blackbirds, but seems
to resemble the sparrow in its familiarity and partiality for human
habitations. It was introduced more than thirty-five years ago into

Mauritius to destroy
grasshoppers, and is
said to have become
perfectly naturalized
there.1 It has also
been introduced into
the Andaman Islands
(some time prior to
1873), the Hawaiian
Islands, New Zea-
land, and possibly
Australia.

It is said to have
reached the Hawai-
ian Islands by way of
China. Dr. Finsch,
an eminent ornitholo-
gist, who visited Honolulu in 1879, found it very abundant, and de-
scribes its habits as follows :

The rnainas are a great nuisance to the inhabitants, as they drive away the
pigeons and fowls, and are said to destroy the nests and eggs of the domestic
birds. That they do drive out the
pigeons from their houses, I observed
many times myself. * * * In Mr.
Barning's garden, where the finest
trees, chiefly palm, abound, hundreds
and thousands come to roost, and
their inharmonious concert lasts from
6 in the evening for an hour or more.
The same is the case at daybreak, a
little after 5 o'clock.

Fig. 5.— Kohlmeise (Pa

THE KOHLMEISE,

UtEAT TITMOUSE.

" Kohlmeise " is I lie < rerman
name of the greal I it mouse of
Europe (Parus major), and this
designation is used to some ex-
tent in the United States. The
kohlmeise (fig. .V) is common over
the whole of Europe as far uorth
as the Arctic Circle and also in Siberia. It is a handsome species,
aboul the size of the common eastern chickadee ( Parus afficap/lhts,
fig. 6), bul may be readily distinguished from any American titmouse
by i he dull yellow on t he sides of the body and the broad black stripe

Fig. 6.— Chickadee I Parus atricapillus).

Jerdon. Birds of India, 11, 1863, i>. 326.

Ibis, 1880, pp. 77. 78.

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 105

extending down the center of its breast (see fig. 5). Like other
species of the genus, it is mainly insectivorous, but in winter is said
to eat nuts and hard seeds. The kohlmeise has recently attracted
attention on account of its alleged value as a destroyer of the codling
moth {Carpocapsa pomonella), particularly in Germany, where it is
reported to protect apple trees in large measure from the attacks of
this destructive insect. But although several German authors regard
it as a most useful species, there seems to be no satisfactory evidence
that it is partial to the codling moth, or in fact that it ever feeds on
the moth to any great extent. In Great Britain where the kohlmeise
is also a resident and generally distributed, its presence has not been
sufficient to exterminate the codling moth or even to hold this pest in
check. On the other hand, it is said to attack small and weakly birds,
splitting open their skulls with its beak to get at the brains, and doing
more or less damage to fruit, particularly pears. One English observer
reported that all the pears in his garden had to be inclosed in muslin
bags to protect them from the birds, which would otherwise eat a con-
siderable partof the fruit before it was ripe. Another reported that I In-
great titmouse spoiled most of a limited crop of apples, and then began
on the pears, boring a small hole near the stem, and passing from one
pear to another until every one of forty or fifty trees had been dam-
aged. It also attacked figs, scooping them out before they were ripe.
In the autumn of 1897 an article appeared in a paper in Idaho set-
ting forth the great value of the bird to the fruit grower, and stronglv
advocating its importation into this country. The article attracted
the attention of horticulturists throughout the Northwest, and gave
rise to considerable discussion concerning the merits of the bird and
the desirability of its introduction. While the kohlmeise might not
develop its fruit-eating propensities in America, it should not be
introduced until more definite information is available concerning its
habits and until it has been shown beyond question that it will do no
serious harm. Moreover, since there are already several titmice of
the same genus in the United States, it seems entirely unnecessary
to add another to the list, for it is hardly probable that the European
bird would confine itself to the codling moth or.be of more value to
the horticulturist than the native species. It may be added that recenl
investigations seem to show that the common eastern chickadee feeds
to some extent on the codling moth, as a few larva1, believed to be
those of this insect, have been found in chickadee stomachs col-
lected in New Hampshire during February and March.1 It may lie
of interest also to recall the fact that the kohlmeise was actually
introduced in 1874 at Cincinnati, Ohio, but the experiment failed, as
neither this nor any of the other exotic species imported at the same
time became naturalized.

'Weed, Bui. 54, N. H. Coll. Agr. Expt. Station, 1898, pp. 87, 94.
12 A98 8*

106 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
THE SKYLARK, GREEN LINNET, AND BLACK THRUSH.

The skylark (Alauda arvensis), the green linnet (Ligurinus chloris),
and black thrush, or black bird (Turdus merula), are all natives of
Europe. They arc chiefly of interest in this connection, because in
their native home they are almost universally considered beneficial,
but in New Zealand they have developed traits which render them
far from desirable additions to the fauna of that island. They were
introduced into New Zealand in 1807; in 1870 they had begun to breed
in a wild state in the province of Auckland on the North Island, and
t he green linnet was reported as already becoming common.1 At the
present time they arc common all over the colony and troublesome in
certain districts. The skylark confines its injuries mainly to turnips,
eating the seed soon after it is planted, and thus causing no small
damage to the future crop. The green linnet is similarly injurious to
-rain, while the black thrush is accused of taking strawberries, cur-
ran Is, raspberries, and other small fruits. As a fruit destroyer the
black thrush is said to be worse than the English sparrow, and the pro-
posal to introduce it into Western Australia elicited a strenuous protest.

The skylark has been introduced several times into the United
States, especially in the vicinity of New York, and recently all three
bi rds have been liberated in Oregon, but as yet they have not increased
to any extent. Both the skylark and the black thrush are noted
singers, but the charms of their song hardly compensate for damage
to crops.

NEED OF LEGISLATION.

The examples already cited show the danger of introducing exotic
species on large islands, particularly on those far distant from con-
tinents, where the fauna is necessarily limited and predatory species
practically absent. In such places introduced species are almost
sure to increase very rapidly. The experience of New Zealand indi-
cates the necessity of exercising unusual care in introducing birds
and mammals into the islands recently acquired by the United States.
Much remains to be learned about the fauna of these new possessions.
Puerto Rico is less known than any of the larger islands of the West
Indies, bnl it probably has no indigenous mammals except bats.
About 150 species of birds have been recorded from the island,2
of which 20 are not found elsewhere. The fauna of the Hawaiian
Islands is still more limited; indigenous mammals, except one bat
( Lasiv/rus), are entirely wanting, but many of the birds are of great
interest. Although no complete list of them has yet been published,
about LOO species are known to occur on the islands. The fauna of

1 The pjreen linnet has found its \v;iy t<> the Kennadee Islands. (500 miles to the
northeast, and all three species are said to be now present on the Chatham
Islands, nearly 500 miles east of the South Island of New Zealand.

•Gundlach. J. F. <)., XXVI, 1878, p. 1(53.

DANGEB OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 107

the Philippines is much richer. The mammals are comparatively

unknown, and until recently were supposed to be poorly represented,
but at present the list includes some 50 species, of which about half
are bats. The birds have received much more attention, and nearly
600 species have been recorded from the archipelago, ' 286 occurring
on Luzon alone

All of the islands have probably suffered more or less from the
introduction of noxious species, especially rats and mice. In Hawaii
rats have done so much damage thai t he sugar planters have imported
the mongoose to destroy them, and this animal is now becoming a
pest. The mina of India is also present in considerable numbers, and
the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis) has been intro-
duced, notwithstanding the fact that it is usually considered a great
pest by fruit growers in California.

During the last fifty years a number of acclimatization societies
have been organized for the purpose of introducing animals and plants
from foreign countries. Private individuals, too, have devoted both
time and money to importing birds or mammals which they consider
necessary or desirable additions to the native fauna. Four or five
societies exist in New Zealand, and several have been formed in the
United States. During the years 1872-1874 the Acclimatization Soci-
ety of Cincinnati, Ohio, expended about 19,000 in the purchase and
importation of European birds, and introduced some 4,000, belonging
to about 20 species, at an average cost of about $4.50 a pair. These
included several birds of doubtful value, such as the starling, skylark,
and great titmouse or kohlmeise.2 This experiment proved a failure.

In 1888 the Society for the Introduction of European Song Birds was
organized at Portland, Oregon, and imported two lots of birds in 1889
and 1892, at a cost of about 82,000. Among the number were 50 pairs
of skylarks, 35 pairs of black thrushes, 35 pairs of starlings, 15 pairs
of green linnets, and a number of others, representing in all some 20
species. Recently the introduction of the kohlmeise into the North-
west has been seriously considered, and the spasmodic attempts to
acclimatize the skylark and starling have been renewed.

Whatever may be the difference of opinion concerning the desira-
bility of introducing exotic species, it will be generally admitted that
some restriction should be placed on the importation of birds and
mammals which may become injurious. Since it has been found
necessary to restrict immigration and to have laws preventing the
introduction of diseases dangerous to man or domesticated animals,
is it not also important to prevent the introduction of any species

1 This number includes the species found on Palawan. Worcester and Bourns
class Palawan with Borneo on zoological grounds, giving for the Philippines proper
526 species; of these, 323 are confined to the group. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum,
XX, 1898, pp. 564, 575.)

• Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., IV, 1881, p. 342.

108 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

which may cause incalculable harm? Experience with the English
sparrow, the work of rabbits in Australia and of the mongoose in
Jamaica, all these have abundantly shown the necessity of preventing
the repetition of similar costly blunders in the future.

Twelve years ago Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological
Survey, urged the necessity of restricting the importation of exotic
species, as follows: '

It seems desirable that a law be enacted conferring upon the Commissioner
[Secretary] of Agriculture the power of granting or withholding permits for the
importation of birds and mammals, except in the case of domesticated species,
certain song and cage birds (to be specifically enumerated), and species intended
for exhibition in zoological gardens, menageries, and museums, which may be
brought in without special permits. The question of the desirability of importing
species of known beneficial qualities in other lands is one which sooner or later
must force itself upon our notice; and it is highly important that when such
experiments are made they should be conducted by or under the control of the
Department of Agriculture.

Ten years later Mr. Alexander Craw, quarantine officer of the Cali-
fornia State board of horticulture, again called attention to the need
of legislation, and in his annual report for 1896 recommended the pas-
sage by Congress of a stringent law preventing the introduction of
noxious animals.

At present there is no Federal statute on the subject, and appar-
ently California is the only State which has given the matter serious
attention or has taken steps to prevent thoughtless or intentional
importation of injurious species. In the act creating the State board
of horticulture, approved March 13, 1883, and amended March 8, 1889,
anl lioiity was conferred on the board to make regulations for the pur-
pose of preventing the spread of fruit pests. In accordance with this
act, certain quarantine regulations were adopted on August 15, 1894,
one of which, Rule XII, provides that "animals known as flying fox,
Australian or English wild rabbit, or other animals or birds detri-
mental to fruit or fruit trees, plants, etc., are prohibited from being
brought or landed in this State, and if brought, they shall be
destroyed."2 This law has resulted in the destruction of several
flying foxes and, so far as known, every mongoose thus far brought to
the porl <>i San Francisco. It is, perhaps, not too much to say that
to this regulation and to the vigilance of the quarantine officer at San
Francisco the State owes its present freedom from the mongoose.

The action of Cape Colony and Western Australia on this question
stands out in marked contrast to the apathy of other countries. Cape
Colony, in 1890, made it unlaw fill to introduce rabbits, either by land
or sea. or to turn 'hem Loose within the colony;3 required the rabbits

'Annual Report I lepartment of Agriculture for 1886, p. 258.

Fifth biennial Reporl State Board of Horticulture, 1806, p. 8.
3 Under a penalty not exceeding 5 pounds for first offense or 10 pounds for sec-
ond offense. (See Agr. Journ., ("ape Town. Ill, January 8. 1891, p. 119.)

DANGER OF INTRODUCING NOXIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 109

already in ihe colony to be c< ufined in hutches or boxes constructed
according to certain prescribed regulations, and authorized anyone to
destroy rabbits found on his premises, on Crown lands, or along pub-
lic roads. Western Australia, profiting by the experience of her sister

colonies on the eastern side of the continent, has taken measures to
secure protection from the evils of indiscriminate and ill-advised accli-
matization by the passage of the so-called "Destructive birds and
animals act" (57 Vic, No. 22). This law, passed in 1893, prohibits the
introduction of all birds or animals which, in the opinion of the
governor-in-council, are destructive to vineyards, orchards, fruit t ices,
or any agricultural produce. The act also prohibits the keeping of
such birds or animals on private premises, authorizes the destruction
of those already in the colony, prohibits the liberation of any destruc-
tive bird or animal, and permits duly authorized officers to enter prem-
ises for the purpose of seizing or destroying sueh birds or animals.
The term "destructive" is interpreted to mean any species to which
the governor-in-council may from time to time extend the provisions
of the act by proclamation, and the selection of species is based mainly
upon the recommendations of the bureau of agriculture.1 The law is
therefore elastic and may be easiby modified when necessary. Spar-
rows and rabbits were originall}' included in 1893, living foxes were
added in December, 1895, and starlings, blackbirds, and thrushes in
January, 1896.

SUMMARY.

(1) Acclimatization of plants differs from that of animals since
plants are introduced for cultivation and thus kept to a certain extent
within control, -^hile animals are liberated and controlled only by
natural enemies or unfavorable conditions.

(2) Animals and birdsare distributed from one continent to another.
and to islands, either by accidental means or by the direct agency of
man. Most animals are intentionally introduced into new regions,
cases of accidental dispersion being comparatively rare except among
rats and mice.

(3) Domesticated animals, like plants, may run wild and become
injurious, especially in regions where food is abundant and natural
enemies are absent. Goats and cats on isolated islands are well-
known examples.

(-L) The animals and birds which have thus far proved most inju-
rious are the rabbit, mongoose, stoat, weasel, flying fox. English
sparrow, starling, and niina. The skylark, green linnet, black thrush,
and great titmouse, or kohlmeise, are of doubtful value and likely to
prove injurious. These species are all natives of the Old World, and
with the exception of the mongoose, mina.and flying foxes, are inhab-
itants of the temperate regions of Europe and western Asia.

1 See Journ. Bureau Agr. Western Australia, II, December 10, 1S95. pp. 630-631;
III, 1896, p. 676.

lOHOT 3

110 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

(5) Notwithstanding the object lessons afforded by the English
sparrow in our own country, the rabbit in Australia, and the mon-
goose in Jamaica, no steps have been taken to prevent the repetition
of similar costly mistakes in the future, and at present no restriction
is placed mi the indiscriminate importation of exotic species into the
United States.

(6) Recent events have given new importance to this subject. The
gradual increase of the starling and the efforts to introduce the kohl-
meise require prompl measures to prevent species of such doubtful
value from gaining a foothold in this country. The acquisition of
new territory has also brought us face to face with new problems.
Not only should the mongoose be prevented from reaching the United
States from Hawaii and Puerto Rico, but the native fauna of these
islands should be preserved and all our island possessions protected
from ill-advised acclimatization, which has caused so much loss in
Australia and New Zealand.

(7) The introduction of exotic birds and mammals should be
resl ricted by law and should be under the control of the United States
Department of Agriculture. Western Australia has already adopted
this course, and under the "Destructive birds and animals act" of
L893, prohibits the importation, liberation, or keeping of animals and
birds which the colonial bureau of agriculture considers injurious to
vineyards, orchards, or crops.

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