122 president's ADDRESS. 



rats running behind the skirting boards. As soon as it was 

 daylight, therefore, I dressed and left the house for a walk 

 into the country. I had walked some miles along the turnpike 

 road when I saw a common thrush carrying a snail shell to a 

 stone on the road, where it tried to break it. In this it was 

 unsuccessful ; so taking it in its bill again it flew over the wall 

 into an adjoining field, where it broke the shell and devoured 

 the contents. On examining the spot I found a stone about 

 six inches in height with a round top, and lying around it as 

 many broken shells as would have filled a tumbler. This was 

 evidently its feeding place. 



Very few persons may have heard the song of a common 

 house sparrow. I have, however, been myself fortunate in 

 doing so. It happened as I was walking through the then 

 principal street in Whitley, I was quite suddenly surprised by 

 hearing what I thought to be the song of a sedge warbler, for 

 I am familiar with the song, if you may call it such, of sedge 

 warblers, having heard them repeatedly at all hours of the 

 day and night between Scotswood and Blaydon in the turn- 

 pike cut amongst the reeds and small bushes, as well as in 

 many other places. I stopped at once and looked for a cage 

 or open window from which the sound might have come, as 

 the idea of seeing one of these birds in captivity seemed to me 

 very extraordinary. Standing perfectly quiet and looking over 

 the rails, however, I saw an old cock sparrow sitting with 

 drooping wings and in full song. Another incident relating to 

 the sparrow afforded me matter of surprise. It occurred on a 

 summer's day in going through a large wood near Winlaton 

 (a wood in which I took an egg of the carrion crow for the 

 first time when a school boy). On this occasion I encountered 

 so large a number that it seemed as if all the sparrows in the 

 neighbourhood had arrived and brought their young ones 

 with them to feed on the caterpillars with which the trees were 

 then infested. No doubt sparrows do much harm both to 

 farmers and gardeners ; still I think they should not be con- 

 sidered an unmitigated evil. They are also great enemies to 

 the white butterflies, and may ft-equently be seen chasing them 

 on the wing. 



