Once Over Lightly

ON THE GROUNDS that birds are also members of the animal kingdom, we throw in another story in that category. The city hall of a certain municipality was infested by a flock of about a hundred pigeons, committing their usual nuisances. The janitor, who had been raised on a farm, came up with an idea he claimed his grandfather had found effective years before. The plan was to soak several bushels of cracked corn in whiskey and put it out for the birds to eat. It would make them drunk and sick, and discourage them from returning. So the city fathers tried it, and the next day about three hundred pigeons showed up, an hour earlier than usual.