1897.] THE HOUSE SPARROW 163 



August 4, 1897. 



I think " House Sparrow" shapes up nicely altogether, 

 and I have this morning received a letter from Dr. M. E. 

 Oustalet, President of the "Comite Ornithologique per- 

 manent," at Paris, to say that he has not been able to find 

 any indication of destruction of sparrows having taken 

 place by order of Government in the districts that I in- 

 quired about. 



August 1 6, 1897. 



Application for our leaflet is very satisfactory. The 

 Staffordshire County Council has taken up distribution, and 

 the farmers and parish authorities are again encouraged to 

 begin sparrow clubs. I have experienced tremendous 

 denunciations of my own brutality from the Rev. J. E. 

 Walker. I enclose the second, as he purposes to relieve his 

 mind further in the " Animal's Friend." Please not to return 

 it. I returned his book with my compliments and thanks 

 for sight of the same, and requested that should he desire to 

 make any further remarks relative to the leaflet that he 

 would not address them to me, but to you as my colleague 

 in the work. 



August 21, 1897. 



In very little more than a week a new impression was 

 needed to keep up to demand and we are making way well 

 with this second 5,000. Many of the applications are from 

 centres and great satisfaction is often expressed at the infor- 

 mation being made available. The Agent-General for New 

 Zealand asked for a supply, and Mr. Morley, Lord Spencer's 

 agent, is taking up the matter well ; and as Lord Spencer 

 appears to steadily set his face against sparrows, I hope that 

 when he comes home we shall get some support there. A 

 fair proportion of clergymen want copies for distribution to 

 parishioners, or for sparrow clubs, which is satisfactory 

 and amongst all the great mass of applications there have 

 not, I think, been more than five or six at all upholding 

 P. domesticus, and these have been mostly quite trivial 

 observations. 



Mr. Morley was in a difficulty about how to keep the 

 birds for counting, as in warm weather they got unpleasant. 

 I suggested preserving their heads in salt and water if I 

 remember rightly this was how they managed the difficulty 

 in South Australia. Altogether I think we are doing well- 

 there are a good many inquiries as to the best methods of 

 destroying the bird but I always say that you will deal 

 with this in your work. The good folks have not attacked 

 me again personally by letter. 



