220 LETTERS FROM MARCO r 



board and the wall, with a little soft loose 

 straw over it, and the rat will, in passing 

 through the aperture, be caught by the leg. 



Of birds, he said, only two were enemies 

 to the agriculturist (not the horticulturist) : the 

 sparrow, whom he called the parasite of man, 

 and the rook. At one time, for a whole year, 

 he had a hundred sparrows sent him once a 

 month ; he opened all their crops, but never 

 discovered anything but corn or grains. 

 Young sparrows will take insects from the 

 parent bird, but when they come to maturity 

 they prefer a vegetable diet. Rooks, he said, 

 will take corn in very dry weather, when the 

 ground is too hard for the easy procuring of 

 grubs. 



Many other things of interest he told me, 

 but he talked so rapidly that I am afraid I 

 might mar a curious tale in telling it. ... 



H. S. M. 



