24 o THE WALKS ABROAD OF 



are also great insect-hunters, though their well-known 

 weakness for cherries and other sweet fruits makes 

 us sometimes look upon them as very troublesome 

 friends. 



'' The same may be said of crows, partridges, gold- 

 finches and other finches, though there is a difference, 

 as these birds attack grains or seeds rather than fruits. 



" To sum up, we must conclude that in the case of 

 these birds of mixed qualities it is as dangerous to 

 acquit them entirely as it is to condemn them without 

 appeal. And it is all the more difficult to decide, as 

 many of these gramnivorous birds not only eat insects 

 themselves but also feed their young ones with them. 



" Here are some conclusive proofs. 



" In Prussia, Frederick the Great observing one 

 day that the sparrows were far too familiar with his 

 cherry-trees at Potsdam, resolved to exact a full 

 penalty for their wrongdoing high treason I pre- 

 sume we ought to call it. A price was set on the 

 heads of the pilferers. Two years afterwards not a 

 sparrow remained in the country, but on the other 

 hand there also remained no cherries in the royal 

 gardens, the whole region being devastated by cater- 

 pillars and other insects. Complaints arriving from 

 all quarters, the king himself recognised his mistake, 

 and the sparrows were reinstated at a very great 

 expense. A little more, indeed, and apologies would 

 have been offered to them. 



