THE SPARROW 3; ITS VIRTUES. ris 
certain and not inconsiderable section of mankind 
would be disposed to praise rather than to blame the 
bird for entertaining convictions of an advanced 
Liberal character. At the same time, I would suggest 
that its seemingly unjustifiable behaviour in destroying 
primroses, more especially upon such a day as the 
nineteenth of April, was probably due, not so much to 
petty spite towards those differing in politics from itself, 
as to the fact that the blossoms in question are fre- 
quently tenanted by the little beetle known to science 
as Lusphalerum primule,; and that the sparrows, after 
their impetuous and headstrong manner, failed to 
recognise the possibility of capturing the insects 
without destroying the flowers. 
Counts two, three, four, and five of the second series 
require no comment of mine. 
CONCERNING the ravages of the sparrow in America 
and New Zealand, I think there can scarcely be two 
opinions. 
We will grant that the bird has increased to an 
utterly unforeseen extent, that it has completely failed 
in the mission which it was expected to carry out, and 
that, so far from rendering itself of service, it has 
become an unmitigated pest, itself destroying the 
crops instead of preventing them from being destroyed 
by others. 
But there is this very important point to be con- 
sidered, that the sparrow in both countries is merely 
a naturalised foreigner, introduced for our own pur- 
