THE COMMON SPARROW. 215 



exposed. A dispensation that exists throughout 

 creation is brought more immediately to our notice 

 by the domestic habits of this bird. The natural 

 tendency that the sparrow has to increase will often 

 enable one pair of birds to bring up fourteen or 

 more young ones in the season. They build in 

 places of perfect security from the plunder of larger 

 birds and vermin. Their art and ingenuity in 

 commonly attaching their nests beneath that of the 

 rook, high in the elm, a bird whose habits are per- 

 fectly dissimilar, and with which they have no 

 association whatever, making use of their structure 

 only for a defence to which no other bird resorts, 

 manifest their anxiety and contrivance for the safety 

 of their broods. With peculiar- perseverance and 

 boldness, they forage and provide for themselves 

 and their offspring ; will filch grain from the trough 

 of the pig, or contend for its food with the gigantic 

 turkey ; and, if scared away, their fears are those 

 of a moment, as they quickly return to their plun- 

 der ; and they roost protected from all the injuries 

 of weather. These circumstances tend greatly to 

 increase the race, and in some seasons their numbers 

 in our corn fields towards autumn are prodigious ; 

 and did not events counteract the increase of this 

 army of plunderers, the larger portion of our bread 

 corn would be consumed by them. But their re- 

 duction is as rapidly accomplished as their increase, 



