A BIRD NATION. 



203 



hundred years ago, they were disturbers ; and they 

 were charged by Mr. White, of Selborne, with destroy- 

 ing swallows, robbing martins, and indirectly increas- 

 ing harmful insects. 



But they came ; and after a few generations, they 

 found this great, free country just the place for a great 

 sparrow nation. Living in our villages and cities, they 

 would escape the terrors of owls and hawks. So they 



House-sparrows Attacking a Cat. 



have gone on increasing, learning all the bad ways of 

 city life, but none of the good ways. From a single 

 pair come five or six broods a year; and, if unop- 

 posed, two hundred and seventy-five billions of birds 

 in ten years. They have already spread over a terri- 

 tory of one million square miles. 



There is a long list of crimes against them. They 

 delight to plunder lettuce, peas, beets, cabbage, fruit 



