THE SPARROW ; ITS VIRTUES. 165 
gardener came and asked me to go into the garden 
to see the state of the fruit-trees, caused by insects, 
which he said had been brought by the east wind. 
It was just after the cold wet weather in April and 
May, which made us to have so few of our summer 
visitants ; and although he had two women and a 
boy employed every day to destroy the insects, yet 
many of the trees were denuded of almost every 
leaf; the cause I pointed out, and advised him not 
to destroy the birds (as I was aware he had killed 
some), but to sow his seeds a little deeper, and 
employ a boy to prevent them eating his peas, &c., 
when they made their appearance above ground. 
‘‘Some nine or ten days after I saw him again, 
when he told me that the sparrows from the old hall 
adjoining had found out the pests, as he called them, 
and had done more in clearing the trees in a few 
days than the people employed had in as many 
weeks; and that for the future, instead of killing 
them as enemies, he would do what he could to 
protect'them. . .. 
“‘ But how is it, it is argued, that he—ze., the spar- 
row—is found in winter with grains of corn inside 
him? What is the history of that same corn? It 
has been already partaken of by the horse! Has the 
objector ever noticed what rooks are similarly en- 
gaged about on a high road when covered deep with 
frozen snow? Otherwise it has been picked up in 
the stubble-fields, where every one knows there is 
plenty to be met with in the late autumn and 
winter... ... 
