276 The Great World's Farm 



against the sparrow, and — he was defeated, ignominiously 

 defeated, and he had the good sense to own it. The king 

 hked cherries, and the birds hked them, too; and he gave 

 orders that the sparrows should be driven away, extermi- 

 nated, got rid of. And he was so well obeyed, that in 

 two years' time there was not a sparrow left in the neigh- 

 borhood. So far he was the victor, for he had certainly 

 vanquished the birds; but he had overreached himself, for 

 instead of having more cherries he had none ! 



There were no cherries at all that year; worse still, 

 there was no fruit of any kind, but in its stead a hideous 

 crop of caterpillars, which had stripped the trees of their 

 leaves. Other birds besides sparrows, of course, eat 

 caterpillars, but the means used to get rid of the sparrows 

 had frightened these others away also. The orchards had 

 been deprived of their guardians, and the enemy had taken 

 possession, and before matters could be set right sparrows 

 had to be imported, at considerable expense; for they 

 would never, it is said, have returned of their own accord 

 as they are not given to wandering. 



Pigeons are the only birds which live on nothing but 

 vegetable food; yet the wood-pigeon is now recognized 

 as such a valuable servant in Belgium, from its habit of 

 eating the seeds of the poppy, spurge, and others which 

 no domestic animal can touch, that it is strictly preserved. 

 Where such seeds are not to be had in sufficient quantities, 

 no doubt the pigeon makes up for it by stealing peas and 

 corn, but the Belgians seem to have made up their minds 

 that it is better to run the risk of having to pay occasional 

 toll to the pigeons than to have their crops choked with 

 weeds. 



A few words as to what in temperate latitudes may be 



