THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of my little feathered pensioners was made 

 quite evident by the hail-like pattering of 

 their feet upon the tinned roof just below, 

 where they hopped impatiently to and fro 

 waiting for their matutinal repast. 



The English sparrow, by reason of his 

 domestic habits and acquired capability of 

 adapting himself to the manifold and vary- 

 ing circumstances of our city and country 

 life, has become one of the most knowing 

 and observing of all our birds. But once a 

 change in my clothing puzzled them. They 

 knew my call, but the different color of my 

 new garments seemed to have changed my 

 personality. They would fly to me at my 

 call, flutter about my head, hover over the 

 food in my hand, and then, perching near by, 

 would proceed to look me over and over 

 with the most perplexed and serious air to 

 fathom the mystery. After a while I estab- 

 lished my identity and our old confidence 

 was renewed. Indeed, it had become so 

 complete that I now felt myself under a spe- 

 cies of obligation never to disappoint them 

 in their expectation of food, as they were on 

 the watch for me whenever I appeared. 



With the other birds my success was not 

 so complete. But this was only what was 

 to be expected. My attention had been 

 mostly directed to the sparrow ; the summer 

 was drawing to a close, and they were seek- 

 ing more congenial haunts. All, however, 

 had become more familiar, for they seemed to 

 have recognized my good will, and so much so 

 that I feel assured that with the proper pa- 



tience and favorable surroundings we can 

 enter into very close and cordial relations with 

 many of these little joyous minstrels whose 

 beauty, song, and winged grace have bright- 

 ened some hours in most of our lives. 



Referring again to the English sgarrow, 

 it may be interesting to observe that* have 

 seen him follow the robin about and snatch 

 from his bill the worms as he pulled them 

 out of the ground. Why the latter did not 

 resent such audacious robbery I can not 

 fancy, unless he knew that " discretion was 

 the better part of valor " that any attempt 

 upon his part to chastise such a questionable 

 messmate might bring down upon himself a 

 mob of his companions. 



His influence is already perceived in our 

 streets, from which the once familiar pigeon 

 is disappearing, as are many of our songsters 

 from the field and garden, due also to his 

 omnipresence. There is very little, if any, 

 poetry or song in his life. His chief pur- 

 pose seems to be " to possess the land," and 

 to bring up as large a family as possible. 

 Yet, while many have learned to regard him 

 as a " wretched interloper," we can not but 

 admire his hardihood, his intelligence, and 

 his plastic instinct, by means of which he 

 fits himself, like his human prototype, to the 

 environments of the many regions he has in- 

 vaded, and where, if the signs be true, he has 

 come to stay and to exclude from their na- 

 tive haunts his more attractive and gracious 

 rivals. P. F. SCHOFIELD. 



NEW YOHK, November 18, 1893. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



PUBLIC OPINION. 



I1ERE is nothing more tiresome than 

 -L the platitudes in which popular ora- 

 tors and journals indulge when, generally 

 for some sinister purpose, they set them- 

 selves to extol the wisdom and virtue 

 of " the people." People who have any 

 sense know just how wise and virtuous 

 they are, and quite fail to see the point 

 of the excessive adulation thus bestowed 

 on them. It is difficult indeed to im- 

 agine what class of persons it is that can 

 be gratified by praise of so inordinate 

 and conventional a kind. Why should 

 a lot of people who have chosen repre- 

 sentatives of a certain kind care to be 

 told that they are so very much wiser 

 than the men they have chosen? yet 



that is the common refrain : the people 

 are so much wiser and better than the 

 politicians. If the people are so much 

 wiser and better than the politicians, 

 why don't they show their wisdom and 

 goodness by bringing better men to the 

 front? The men who are elected to-day 

 may in a short time return to private 

 life and become electors themselves: do 

 they thereupon acquire a sudden increase 

 in wisdom, and do they show their in- 

 creased wisdom by helping at the first 

 opportunity to elect worse men then 

 themselves? That seems to he the way 

 it is understood to work : the whole 

 thing is fulsome and absurd to the last 

 degree. 



The truth, which, if it does not give 



