The Chipping Sparrow 



233 



Chipping Sparrows are very useful birds, for they destroy 'worms' (the 

 caterpillars, or larvae, of moths and butterflies) which eat holes in the vegetables 

 in the garden, and consume grass-blades and the leaves of trees. 



Over large areas of the New England States, the gipsy-moth has become 

 a great scourge, for its caterpillars attack nearly all the trees in the country, 

 except pines and cedars. They destroy the leaves; and, as 

 trees really breathe through their leaves, the gipsy-moth of 

 course is responsible for killing the trees. Some states have 

 tried many experiments in order to learn how they may rid themselves of these 

 pests. 



To learn more about the life-history of the gipsy-moth, the men in charge 

 of the experiments in Massachusetts not long ago built a large inclosure out- 



Foe of the 

 Gipsy-Moth 



THE SPARROW WHOSE HOME WAS IN THE CLEMATIS VINE 

 Photographed by Joseph W. Lippincott, Bethayres, Pa. 



of-doors. This was covered and surrounded by a thin netting, inside of which 

 a great many gipsy-moths were placed, where their various habits could be 

 closely watched. Then a curious thing happened, the Chipping Sparrows 

 began to arrive, and would continually break through the frail netting to get 

 inside the frame where they could catch the moths. The men in charge did 

 not think a moment of killing the Sparrows. No, indeed! So useful a bird 

 should not be destroyed! They did a much wiser thing, for they kept a man 

 on guard to frighten the Sparrows away when they came too close to the 

 netting. The actions of the birds plainly showed that they much preferred to 



