THE CANADIAN HORTIOUL'I CKIST. 



131 



future they would destroy no more birds 

 ill like niaiiuer. 



I think this shows what good and 

 useful allies wi' have in these small ; 

 birds, and we miy think oui-selves for- 

 tunate that they do us such good service; j 

 and require so little payment. With i 

 ordinary care on the part of the farmer 

 and horticulturists, the birds may be ! 

 kept from doing any serious damage to j 

 the crops, and if they hel[) themselves 

 rather freely sonietinies to the gniin 

 and fruit, they have a kind of right to j 

 do so, having given us such important j 

 help in the ])reservation of it. '• The i 

 labourer is worthy of his hire." And, i 

 •■ Behold the fowls of the air ; for they 

 .sow not, neither do they rea^), nor gather ' 

 into barns, yet your heavenly Father 

 feedeth them." And I therefore think, 

 for mv part, that <jod intended the birds 

 to have a reasonable shire of the fruits 

 of the earth as well as our.selves. 

 Youra. etc., 



Fked. S. Coles. 



Hamilton, Out. 



THE EN'(iLISH SPAR HOW. 

 Mil Editor, — I have taken your 

 monthly journal ever since its first 

 issue, and believe it to be improving 

 with the times. I think it the most 

 valuable of its size ])ublislied, not. that 

 I believe all its ti-achings, nor do 1 

 believe all that is said by sajnent mem- 

 bers of the F. G. A., esjtecially when 

 they say the Knglisli sparrow must go. 

 Poor little emigrant, he is made the 

 scajiegoat for nearly all the evils that 

 befall the Dominion. I confess I am 

 gi-eatly astonished at such a resolution 

 from those gentlemen. I could not 

 muster courage to say a word on behalf 

 of the poor si)arrow, until the article of 

 Mr. George Mitchell appeared in the 

 April number. He speaks to the point, 

 and true every word, wiih the slight 

 exception that the sjiari-ow will eat oats 

 in Scotland and Ireland ; I saw that 



myself. I should as soon charge the 

 sparrows with causing an earthquake or 

 a blizzard, as a great many things that 

 arc laid to their charge. For instance, 

 I saw in a paper a few days ago that 

 they eat bees and feed them to their 

 young, and with dexteiity extract the 

 sting, so as not to hurt the young. 

 Now I would like to borrow that man's 

 glasses, for I think a blind man might 

 see with them. They are also charged 

 with driving away all the small birds. 

 This is certainly a very unfair charge, 

 with which they have nothing to do. 

 If these gentlemen would only tiirn 

 their t-nei-gies against the small boy, 

 and liig boy, too, with their shot guns 

 and shooting matches, leavin>i notliing 

 with feathers large enough to take sight 

 on ; and, added to this, the hordes of 

 half-staived cats, the wonder is there 

 is a binl left alive, great or small. 



I also saw them charged with suck- 

 ing eggs of the robin. I simply ])lace 

 that with tliH^ others as lacking proof 

 or i-eason, not to speak of the truit bud 

 charges. Now, Mr. Editor, I have bee.s 

 in my yard, and have had for the last 

 I ten or twelve years, with ])lenty of 

 sjjarrows, and I never saw a bird of 

 I any kind e it bees, excepting the bee 

 ! martin (or king bird, as it is sometimes 

 ! oftlled), eat a few, but not enough to be 

 ] wortli notice. Domestic fowl, even, 

 I will not eat bees. I once saw a rooster 

 catch one by mistake, and after dancing 

 : around for some time, I concluded he 

 j would avoid such mistakes in future. 

 I I have fiuit of difierent kinds grown 

 1 for market, and am satisfied none of 

 1 them are in any w;iy injured Vjy the 

 ' sparrow. I did see him though, as I 

 was plowiiii' the orchard, follow me at 

 ; a little distance, and i)ick up chrysalis 

 ■ of different kinds of moths and beetles, 

 j and I should be very sorry to lose their 

 i comjiany. It is ui-ged, as an objection, 

 that his song is not very sweet. Quite 

 I true. But better that than no song at 



