Excerpt from Report of the Acting Chief of the Division of Biological Survey for 1899 The expedition dispatched last winter by the United States Fish Commission to Porto Rico discovered that the mongoose was not only present, but that it had spread all over the island, much as it spread over Jamaica. It was imported at San Juan about twenty years ago for the purpose Of destroying rats in the cane fields, and is now regarded as a general nuisance by all except the sugar planters. In Hawaii it has. Long since ceased to be ...
Read More
Excerpt from Report of the Acting Chief of the Division of Biological Survey for 1899 The expedition dispatched last winter by the United States Fish Commission to Porto Rico discovered that the mongoose was not only present, but that it had spread all over the island, much as it spread over Jamaica. It was imported at San Juan about twenty years ago for the purpose Of destroying rats in the cane fields, and is now regarded as a general nuisance by all except the sugar planters. In Hawaii it has. Long since ceased to be considered beneficial, and measures were adopted seven years ago to prevent its further increase, Although it is valuable as a destroyer Of rats, its record in Jamaica Shows that it is one Of the worst pests that can be introduced into any country, as it does not confine its killing to small animals, but also destroys poultry, game, birds and reptiles, and even consumes some kinds Of fruit. NO greater calamity could befall the Southern States than the introduction Of the mongoose, and no efiort should be spared to prevent this animal from being brought into the United States. Another foreign species which may perhaps prove troublesome is the European starling. This bird, liberated in Central Park, New York City, about 1877 and again in 1890, seems to have become firmly established, and is now gradually spreading up the Hudson Valley. It has also become established at Portland, Oreg., and a few individuals have been imported for the city park at Allegheny, Pa. It still re mains to be seen whether the starling will become as great a pest here as it has in New Zealand, but the benefit Of the acquisition of such a species is at best very doubtful. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at ... This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Read Less
