210 



KNOWLEDGE 



[September 1, 1898. 



the blue tits than by gardeners, who attribute the broken 

 twigs to these useful birds. I know that the majority of 

 gardeners look upon anyone as insane who would say a 

 good word for the sparrow, but I am proud to own them 

 as friends, though they do pinch the crocuses and other 

 things. In my insect diary I have many records for good 

 as well as for e\il deeds. I have frequently watched 

 sparrows examining the lime trees in search of the brindled 

 beauty moth, Bi.ston hirtaria, and seen them kill and eat a 

 number of females — each of which would lay over six 

 hundred eggs. Again, that great miner the wood leopard 

 moth, Zemera ;€scitli (whose larv:c work such havoc among 

 trees of all kinds in our parks and gardens), is a favourite 

 morsel of the sparrow. I turn to my diary for 1873, and 

 find an entry to the effect that every ash tree (over thirty) 

 on the right side of Hanley Eoad, N., was infested with 

 wood leopards, which emerged about five o'clock in the 

 afternoon. On some trees over a dozen were to be seen 

 drying their wings. Further observation showed dozens of 

 sparrows " collecting " and eating these savoury insects. 

 I noted the same thing going on at Finsbury Park, where 

 I pointed out several infested trees to the late Mr. Thomas 

 Cochran, Superintendent, who had them immediately cut 

 down and opened, much to the wonder of the staff, who 

 had no idea such "miners " could bore through and through 



Fig. 9. — Holly Leaf mined by Larva of Phytomj/za aquifolii. 

 (Natural size.) 



the solid ash trunks. Where the wood leopard failed 

 the huge larva of the goat moth (C'oss-its liquiperda) took 

 up the work of destruction. In the year 1878, when living 

 near Finsbury Park, I noted a small willow tree in my 

 next-door neighbour's garden which appeared to be infested 

 with these caterpillars. Soon after we were astonished 

 to find a large larva in the kitchen one morning, but though, 

 according to Pliny, the Romans used to consider this 

 stinking goat moth larva a luxury of the table, I did 

 not feel disposed to prove it, though I could not under- 

 stand the visit. However, others continued to arrive 

 almost daily in various parts of the house, until I obtained 

 permission from my neighbour to examine the willow 

 before mentioned. It was not more than five inches in 

 diameter, and, when broken up, I found it full of larvfe of 

 C Uqiiiperda, varying fi'om an inch and a half to four inches 

 long! These, added to those which had visited us, aU 

 told, totalled up to one hundred and nine ! But how 

 many beside went over the walls the other side it is 

 impossible to say. What a feast for anyone so inclined ! 

 I have seen a sparrow attack and destroy one of these 

 large moths. Only last week I foimd the mutilated 

 remains of a wood leopard in my own garden, where from 

 a small pear tree I cut out one of these larvic, but the 

 damage had gone too far, as the " miner " had bored 

 right up the central stem and the tree died. 



We must not forget that sparrows kill great numbers of 

 " daddy longlegs " before most people are awake. We 

 all know how plentiful " green fly " has been on every 



plant this dry season ; I, for one, have been much indebted 

 to the sparrows for their persistence in picking ofi' immense 

 numbers of this pest. 



" Seeing is beheving," and I only write of the things 

 which I have seen, and feel it to be a duty to say a kind 

 word on behalf of the much-abused sparrow. 



The holly leaves are sometimes sorely affected by the 



Fig. 10.— Parasite of Hollv FIv 



12 Diameters.) 



larva of Phytomy^a ai/uitoUi (Fig. 9), a miner which, for 

 obvious reasons, has things pretty much its own way, 

 except for the industrious parasite (Fig. 10) which does 

 its best to check the advance of this disfiguring larva. 



To those who grow raspberries " the maggot " ought to 

 be familiar, but it is astonishing how seldom the cause of 

 a bad crop is detected. This is owing to the fact that inquiry 

 is generally made too late, and should " opportunity be 

 neglected " sorrow is sure to follow. 



The month of May is the best — I might say the only 

 time when any steps can be taken to destroy this miner, 

 which is, when full grown, a httle over a quarter of an 

 inch long — a chubby Uttle pink maggot — which has during 

 the winter been securely protected in a tiny covering 

 among the earth at the foot of the canes. In the spring 

 it ascends until it reaches the buds just breaking into 



Fig. 11. 



-Raspberry Shoot affected with " the Maggot " of 

 Lampronia rubiella. 



growth. Into the bud it bores a minute hole (Fig. 12), 

 which is frequently hidden away by the scale. When 

 once inside it is safe from observation, and it quietly goes 

 on with its mining right up the centre of the fruit-bearing 

 shoot, the only outward indication of its presence being an 



