252 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



miuius tor 1 



its destruction are given in all the fanning districts in the country. (Dan- 



iel Graves, Provo City, Utah, November 16, 1886.) 



Cambridge County. In cherry orchards and gardens, when I was a boy, it was nec- 

 essary to keep one or more boys with a shotgun from early daylight to dark. ( Jabez 

 Webster, Centralia, 111., December 21, 1886.) 



They operate on fruit, especially grapes, which they seem to wantonly destroy by 

 boring a hole in every berry, which is then left to rot. (Thomas Birfc, Utica, N. Y., 

 September 16, 1387. ) 



GERMANY.— It eats cherries, and in the spring when the cabbage plants come up 

 picks off the bud at the top, and by so doing uproots the tender plant or spoils it. 

 (Mrs. W. Seliger, Hartford, Conn. March 13, 1884. ) 



INJUEY TO GKAItf CEOPS. 



In answer to the question, Does the Sparrow injure grain crops f seven 

 hundred and fifty replies were received. Three hundred and twelve of 

 these were very brief and may be summarized as follows: 



Reports. 



No 96 



Think not ; believe not 19 



Not to my knowledge 5 



Not so far as observed 16 



Not here; not yet 13 



No; confined entirely to cities 8 



No ; not abundant enough 15 



Not much ; confined mainly to cities. 2 



Not much ; not abundant enough... 11 



Not materially 3 



Not seriously 10 



Not to any extent 11 



Reports. 



Not more than any other bird 2 



But slightly 5 



No complaint heard 9 



Yes 31 



Think so ; believe so 2 



Is said to; have heard so 4 



Farmers complain that it does 3 



To some extent 9 



Inj ures all cereals 4 



Inj ures all small grains 8 



It eats srain 26 



The remaining four hundred and thirty-eight replies are more full and 

 explicit, often giving illustrations of the damage done and the manner 

 in which it is inflicted. These replies can not be summarized satisfac- 

 torily, and, for reasons explained elsewhere, only a portion of them can 

 be printed. They may be classified roughly as follows : 



Reports. 



Wholly favorable to the Sparrow 2 



Wholly unfavorable to the Sparrow 431 



Partly favorable and partly unfavorable 5 



The following examples, representing less than one quarter of the evi- 

 dence contained in these four hundred and thirty-eight replies, will give 

 same idea of the character of the whole : 



Alabama. — Badeville. Postmaster : It stripped of seed in a short time some cat- 

 tailed millet which had been left to ripen. (November 30, 1886. Present two or 

 three years. ) 



California. — Berkeley. C. H. Dwindle : It seems to me that the so-called English 

 or House Sparrow threatens to become in our mild climate (California) a nuisance of 

 the first order. It has already made it almost impossible to conduct certain kinds of 

 field experiments with grains, etc., with any kind of satisfactory results. (Brooklyn, 

 N. Y., December 4, 1886.) 



