218 UNJUSTLY PUNISHED. 



Sparrows are, when properly taught, admirable Song-birds ! 

 Taken when callow from the nest, and brought up under a 

 Canary in fine voice, they not only equal, but even surpass 

 their masters in brilliancy of execution. I am well versed 

 in these matters, having made them the subject of study 

 for years. I number the Sparrows among my good friends.' 



By agriculturists Sparrows are generally held in detes- 

 tation, and killed without mercy. Sparrow-clubs, for the 

 promotion of their destruction, exist in all the rural districts 

 of our land. To give some idea of the number of these 

 birds destroyed, we may quote a few lines from a local 

 paper of 1855. * At the anniversary dinner of the Spar- 

 row club, at Cricklade, Wilts, on Saturday, two members, 

 Messrs. Plummer and Forris, produced 5,812 Sparrows. 

 Mr. Plummer (who had killed 3,696 of these) received 

 10s., and Mr. Forris, 5s.' 



The following from a French paper seems to argue the 

 case between Passer and his persecutors very fairly: 

 * The Perseverant of Limoges contains a curious calculation 

 of the damage to farmers in France which is annually 

 caused by Sparrows. It estimates the consumption of corn 

 of each Sparrow at one gallon ; and, reckoning that there 

 are ten millions of these birds in France, makes the total 

 loss of more than nine millions of francs ; but on the other 

 hand, it is supposed that the insects which they destroy 

 would occasion a much greater loss if these birds were not 

 in existence. As a proof of this, it is mentioned that in 

 the Palatinate the government had ordered all the Sparrows 

 to be killed, offering a premium upon their heads; but 

 the ravages caused by insects when the Sparrows had dis- 

 appeared were so great, that premiums were offered for the 

 reintroduction of the birds.' 



Experience has shown in France that legislative enact- 

 ments are absolutely necessary for the preservation of the 

 birds, so recklessly accused of plunder, so ruthlessly and 

 improvidently destroyed. It is clear enough that the bird 

 can live without man, but that man can live without 

 the bird is not equally certain. A Titmouse in one year 

 consumes more than two hundred thousand microscopic 

 eggs and larvse, and surely grateful man might render 



