OUR COMMON BIRDS 317 



Massachusetts would probably never have come to our 

 notice had it not found free course in localities where 

 the sparrows had driven off the native birds. The same 

 is true of many other destructive caterpillars and of the 

 elm beetle. Even with the few birds that we now have 

 in rural districts, these pests do comparatively little 

 damage and never become so numerous as in the cities 

 that are swarming with sparrows. The sparrow has thus 

 had many opportunities to distinguish himself and has 

 failed in every case. Besides refusing to assist materially 

 in the extermination of insects, the sparrow has attacked 

 the gardens, orchards, vineyards, and grain fields in a most 

 destructive manner. 



