106 



Belgium. When I inquired there if they 

 had no birds, the answer was that they 

 had eaten them all. But the crops were 

 certainly not suffering from insect pests, 

 and I cannot but think we very much 

 overrate the good the birds do and do not 

 take into consideration the harm they do 

 in destroying the predatory insects. 

 There are, of course, many birds that do 

 no harm, and these should be protected 

 as much as possible. 



For reducing the number of sparrows 

 the best thing I have known was Hard- 

 ing's prepared wheat. It would not kill 

 anything larger than a sparrow or mouse 

 — it would not kill rats or poultry. But 

 the Government of the day brought in a 



Bill making it illegal to poison wheat in 

 any way. Still, something might be done 

 by appointing a certain number of men 

 to kill the sparrows through Kent by this 

 means, by permission of the Board of 

 Agriculture. 



Sparrow clubs account for great num- 

 bers. Our Broughton Club reported one 

 year 5,933 birds brought in, but that 

 makes no perceptible difference in the 

 number. In the good old times the 

 churchwarden paid head money for spar- 

 rows, and that kept them more within 

 bounds. Sparrows should be destroyed 

 generally, and blackbirds, thrushes, bull- 

 finches, chaffinches, green linnets locally 

 where they are too plentiful. 



