taylor] ORGANIZATION FOR NATURE-STUDY 171 



IV. Business of the English Sparrow. 



1. Care of Self . (a) Food: (1) Information: very sharp eyes, able to 

 see seeds, insects, etc., at long distance. (2) What: grain — wheat, oats, 

 rye. rice, buckwheat, etc.; fruit — grapes, cherries, plums, apples, pears, 

 peaches; garden vegetables — peas, corn, lettuce, cabbage. Will not eat 

 insects, if he can get grain, etc. (3) How it flies from place to place in 

 search of food, hops; runs; bathes; rolls in dust. (4) Work: dav or 

 night 5 (5) Food habits: foe of man; eats farmer's grain, fruits, etc., 

 and does not eat the caterpillars that destroy his trees. 



(b) Self-Protection: (1) Enemies: how it escapes — by flying. (2) 

 How it fights: sharp bill and sharp claws. Drives out native birds like 

 robin and wren. While parents of baby robins or wrens are out looking 

 for food, the sparrows will go to the boxes and pull out the young feather- 

 less birds and kill them. 



(c) Adjustment to Physical Surroundings: (1) Found all over this 

 country; protected by feathers against cold; stays all winter. 



2. Care of Baby Birds: (a) Its home : rough and loosely made of straws, 

 sticks, etc. (b) Lays 4 to 7 eggs. (Size and color.) (c) Hatched in 12 

 or 13 days, (d) From 4 to 6 broods in a season, from January to Sep- 

 tember. (V) Thus in Xew York a single pair may rear from 20 to 30 

 young in one season. 



Note. — The introduction of this pest is credited to Hon. Xicolas Pike 

 and others, directors of the Brooklyn Institute, who imported eight pairs 

 in 1850. It was introduced into many States by legislative enactment 

 under the mistaken notion that it is an insectivorous bird and thus a 

 friend of man. It is now known to be one of his worst enemies, inasmuch 

 as it destroys his fruits and grains and drives out native birds that are a 

 benefit to man. The question, therefore, arises, What shall we say about 

 the sparrow to little children on the score of his relation to man? We 

 want to teach kindness to animals; but here is an enemy. How far 

 shall we dwell on this feature and thus arouse the child's feelings against 

 the creature? 



V. Business of the House Flv. 



1. Care of Self, (a) Food: (1) Information: wonderful eyes; sense 

 of smell. (2) What: dirty foods, various kinds of filth; in the house it 

 eats sugar, milk, etc. (3) How it eats: proboscis, something like a tongue 

 with which it laps up food. (4) Work: day or night ? (5) Food habits: 

 friend or foe of man ? We are obliged to screen our doors and windows 

 to keep it out. Specks everything, crawls over our food, falls into our 

 milk and cream, etc.; eats and breeds in filth, and thus carries disease. 



(b) Self- Protection : (1) Enemies: how it escapes. (2) Does it fight? 

 (3) Has it a home ? (4) Does it lead a solitary life, or is it in a community ? 



(c) Adjustment to Physical Surroundings: (1) Lives on ground; can 

 walk on side of wall or ceiling with its six legs; how' (2) Where does it 

 go in winter? 2. Care of Young, (a) Lays its eggs in manure or door- 

 door-yard filth, (b) Lays as many as 100 at a time, (c) The eggs hatch 



