BY A FRIEND OF THE FARMERS. 25 



or often a piece of tender green leaf, among his cropful 

 of corn. At spring seed-time he has another turn at the 

 corn fields. In May and June he often finds it difficult 

 to get as much corn as he would like, and goes eagerly to 

 any place where he has a chance of getting it, but often 

 has to make shift with wild seeds : he seems, too, to like a 

 little green grass seed with his old corn, and contrives to 

 find some very early in the year ; most likely in warm 

 sheltered places near buildings. I once found some 

 sparrows full of chickweed-seed in May. At this season 

 he gets wild seeds near houses, in gardens or meadows 

 adjoining, but, so far as I have observed, does not go far 

 into the fields for them. Now we come round to the 

 time when he can get plenty of his favourite food ; perhaps 

 green peas in June, and any amount of green corn in 

 July. 



A few town sparrows which I have examined, had little 

 in them beside corn, much of which they get where fowls 

 and pigeons are fed ; they get also unbitten oats and 

 some grass-seeds from horse-droppings in the streets, as 

 well as a good deal of bread-crumbs and other waste in 

 towns. Sparrows leave towns and villages for a while, 

 and go to the fields when plenty of corn is to be got there. 

 At spring seed-time I have seen a great crowd of sparrows 

 along the hedge of a newly sowed field near a small town. 

 I believe that most of the London sparrows go out of 

 town at harvest-time. 



That sparrows live chiefly on corn is pretty evident, 

 independently of any examination of the food in them. 

 Where plenty of corn can be had for the greater part of 

 the year, they will make shift for a short time with wild 

 seeds or insects ; but where there is never any corn there 

 are no sparrows, and where there is little of it but few. 



