228 THE INVITATION. 



their increase and perpetuity, especially to the smaller 

 species. With man, come flies and moths, and insects 

 of all kinds in greater abundance ; new plants and 

 weeds are introduced, and, with the clearing up of the 

 country, are sowed broadcast over the land. 



The larks and snow-buntings that come to us from 

 the North, subsist almost entirely upon the seeds of 

 grasses and plants ; and how many of our more com- 

 mon and abundant species are field-birds, and entire 

 strangers to deep forests? 



In Europe some birds have become almost domes- 

 ticated, like the house-sparrow, and in our own country 

 the cliff-swallow seems to have entirely abandoned 

 ledges and shelving rocks, as a place to nest, for the 

 eaves and projections of farms and other out-build- 

 ings. 



The European house-sparrow, by the way, has been 

 introduced with entire success in this country, and in 

 New York and the adjacent cities is already quite nu- 

 merous, and is rapidly increasing. Before I was aware 

 of this fact I was much puzzled, a couple of years ago, 

 by a bird I saw in the streets of Jersey City. I had oc- 

 casion one June morning, at a very early hour, to walk 

 from the depot out into the suburbs, toward Bergen 

 Hill ; and all along the streets, picking up food about 

 the feet of the horses, alighting on the curb-stones and 

 on the houses, quite unmindful of the passers-by, feed- 

 ing their young with much chattering, and quarreling 

 with the martins, with loud squeaking, my attention 



