660 TliANSACTIOKS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



some small fruit in such a situation,' the straAvhen-y is the best. 

 For a market berrv, I recommend Barnes' Mammoth, a large variety, 

 and likely to do well in a fresh, dark soil. 



Mr. William Lawton. — Just north of my residence, in iKTew 

 Rochelle, I had a similar field, which I drained and planted out with 

 "Wilson strawberries. They flourished and bore very finely. I can- 

 not raise the Triomphe de Grand at all. But we have a variety that 

 we think a great deal of, called the Berdan seedling. 



Potash as a Manure. 



Mr. James H. Linsley, ISTorthford, Conn., asked : What is the 

 value of muriate of potassa as compared with commercial potash as 

 a manure? Or is the combination such as to decrease its value ? 



Mr. Jas. A. Whitney thought that the muriate of potassa was not 

 as good as the commercial potash. The chlorine or In^drochloric acid 

 will injure the plants. 



The English Sparrow. 



Mr. Levi Davis, Ridgeway, IST. Y., and others, ask about this bird, 

 whether its general introduction would prove an advantage to fruit 

 growers. 



Dr. Isaac P. Trimble. — The English spaiTow differs from the bird 

 we call by that name in being larger and more greedy. But he is not 

 an insect-eating bird by nature. He Avill eat insects when he cannot 

 get seeds, but not all kinds of insects or worms. He is fond of millers, 

 and devours many kinds that are injurious to trees. But the big 

 hairy and tufted worms he does not like. They have been found very 

 efieetive in ridding our city parks of the measuring worm, but this 

 pest was also assailed by another enemy, a parasite that kills him by 

 the million, Washington square was so infested with worms that the 

 trees were in danger of being ruined, when 2,000 sparrows were let 

 loose upon the enemy. They devoured the worms and riiillere right 

 and left. The principal merit of the European sparrow is his domestic 

 character. He is very tame, and will live in gardens^ and close by 

 houses, where the robin and the cuckoo will not venture. As an 

 insect eater the yellow-billed cuckoo is worth a dozen sparrows, for he 

 will eat the most hairy worms and mischievous insects, but he is shy 

 and suspicious in his habits. For my part, Mr. Chairman, I do not 

 think we should displace all our native songsters in favor of a European 

 bird. We have killed and driven away our feathered friends, many 



