126 



THE CANADIAN IiaRTIOULTURIST. 



Black Walnut and Chestnut trees this | 

 next spring, unless you think we arc ' 

 too far north to admit of their growing. 

 If you think they would not do well 

 here, I wish you would make a note of 

 it in next number. I read the articles 

 in one of the back numbers, and don't 

 understand if that is the only distance 

 north that such trees will grow. Of 

 course we have no such trees here, and 

 I would like to plant a few to test them 

 for a winter or two. I cannot think 

 of any more at present to mention, so 

 hoping you will excuse this from one 

 who is not accustomed to write long 

 letters, 



I remain, yours respectfully, 



Jas. C. Cooper. 

 Note. — It is not probable that the 

 Sweet Chestnut would endure the 

 climate. The Black Walnut might. 



ENGLISH SPARROWS. 



To THE EDITOK or THE CANADIAN HORTICULTORIST. 



Sir, — In your March number there 

 was a communication from Mr. New- 

 hall, referring to an article from an 

 Australian paper respecting the des- 

 tructiveness of the English sparrow, 

 which article I had previously read. 



As Mr. Newhall gave no particulars 

 of his own observation, I doubted the 

 facts as stated, as my garden and small 

 plum orchard is constantly filled with 

 sparrows, they having made it a roost- 

 ing place all winter, and I had never 

 noticed any harm they had done to 

 fruit or fruit buds. 



I wrote a short article to send you 

 to that eflfect, but before sending it I 

 happened to notice a pear tree in my 

 garden with a dozen of sparrows on it 

 busy pecking at the fruit buds which 

 were then just beginning to expand, 

 and going to examine them closely I 

 found they were nibbling at the in- 

 cipient stalks of the blossoms. Think- 



ing they might be after insects, I con- 

 cluded to watch them more carefully 

 before writing you ; but on going into 

 my plum yard adjoining, I found there 

 was hardly a fruit bud left on several 

 hundred bearing plum trees, the places 

 where the fruit buds had been picked 

 out being quite distinct all over the 

 trees. They had not then touched any 

 cherry or peach buds, but on Saturday 

 last I discovered dozens of sparrows 

 on my specimen tree of the new 

 "Windsor cherry" seedling, which 

 stands at my kitchen door, and which 

 was, as usual, perfectly covered with 

 an enormous show of blossoms. On 

 examining closely, standing under the 

 tree and looking up, I saw they were 

 all busy eating the unopened fruit blos- 

 soms, and looking under the tree found 

 the ground covered with the debris of 

 the buds dropped in eating them. Since 

 then they have been busy on all my 

 cherry trees, more than half of the 

 unopened blossoms being already gone. 

 To-day I found them eating the peach 

 blossoms for the first time, and doubt 

 not but all will be destroyed before the 

 week is over, as there are hundreds of 

 them busy at work all the time. 



It is evident that strong measures 

 must be taken to prevent the spread of 

 the sparrow, and to destroy them wliere' 

 they are already a nuisance, as they 

 are here. As long as they were few in 

 numbers they did apparently little or 

 no injury to the trees or fruit, li-ving 

 on what they could pick up out of the 

 horse droppings on the streets and any 

 spilt grain about the railway depot and 

 elsewhere. But this spring there has 

 been little or no movement of grain by 

 rail, and the birds have increased so 

 much that they can't make a living oflT 

 the horse droppings, and have been 

 supplimenting it with fruit buds. 



The benefit they were to do in des- 

 truction of insects has been greatly 



