50 THE HOUSE SPARROW. 



middle of June, when the cherry has ripened its fruit, 

 the destruction is immense. Scarcely a tree escapes. 

 The fruit is seldom eaten in its entirety, but bitten in 

 several places, thus causing premature decay. Several 

 trees that I examined, which were literally crowded 

 with fruit, did not reveal a single untouched cherry 

 One small branch, containing a hundred cherries, had 

 every one bitten ; some in a- semi-rotten condition, in 

 consequence. The so-called honey cherry has the great- 

 est attraction, and the common black cherry the least, 

 showing that the species is somewhat fastidious in its 

 appetite, notwithstanding its decided penchant for horse- 

 dung. But is there no way of preventing this destruc- 

 tion ? I apprehend not. The scarecrow is of little 

 avail. Even the report of a gnn creates but a momen- 

 tary alarm ; for the very next moment the birds are 

 back, feeding as vigorously as before, as though nothing 

 had happened. For man, creation's lord, they have but 

 little fear or respect. I have known instances where 

 they would enter a tree, alight within a few feet of a 

 person, and feed away as though they were not cogni- 

 zant of his presence, all the while keeping a wide 

 lookout for dangers. The American sparrow is a fond 

 lover of the juicy cherry, and destroys many when 

 allowed to visit the trees unmolested. lie is charac- 

 terized by greater boldness than his European kin, 

 who is desperately afraid of man, his inveterate perse- 

 cutor. It had been hoped that the strawberry would 

 have remained unmolested. But no; this most luscious 

 berry must share a similar fate. During the past season, 

 a friend of the writer's, living in Germantown, was sur- 

 prised to find that the sparrows were at work upon his 

 neighbor's strawberry patch. As soon as the fruit had 



