324 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



the quality of the bags themselves is not as good as formerly, and on all the later 

 colored grapes the long exposure of them made more holes than usual. All unpro- 

 tected Clintons, Nortons, Herbemonts, Catawbas, indeed all colored grapes, went as 

 soon as they began to color well, and even of those that were bagged more than half 

 were taken, the latter by reason of the opening made by the weather in the bags, and 

 consequent knowledge to the Sparrow of what was inside. My own loss in this way 

 was not less than five hundred bags. Some of our grape-growers affirm that having 

 once found out that the bags had grapes in them the Sparrow did not confine his at- 

 tacks to the injured ones, but destroyed the perfect bags as well. 



Passing on horseback in summer on the outskirts of the city and looking across a va- 

 cant square in which oats had been grown and were then in the shock, in the direction 

 of the sun, I noticed a white cloud around the head of the shocks like an aureole. I 

 rode around to the rear of the square and found that it was the reflection on the oat 

 chaff thrown out by innumerable Sparrows perched on the shocks and devouring the 

 grain. It was clear to me then that the farmer would ultimately suffer greatly unless a 

 remedy is found against the increase of the Sparrow. At the meeting of the Warren 

 County Horticutural Society this matter has been discussed much recently, and many 

 schemes have been suggested to accomplish this. Generally such experiments as have 

 been made seem to demonstrate that some form of poison given with food is about 

 the most promising. 



Opposite my residence, and across the street, is the rear of a square occupied as a 

 lumber-yard, and next the fence is a shed 100 feet long and 12 feet wide. I thought 

 this offered a good opportunity to try the effect of poison on these pests, as it 

 would be secure from fowls and animals. Accordingly I prepared a mixtuie of 

 meal and flour, plentifully sprinkled with strychnine, and put it on the roof. I saw 

 no dead birds and no evidence of its effect until citizens a square away began to 

 talk about the fatality among the Sparrows, numbers of them being found dead. 

 Closer observations showed that after taking the food, and when its first twinges 

 were felt, they sprang into the air and went with rapid flight until they fell dead. 

 Very many were killed, as they greedily devoured all the food given. I did not repeat 

 the experiment, as I was away from home much thereafter, but am mad enough now 

 over the losses among my grapes to organize a regular campaign of this sort, and 

 many are like minded with myself. The orioles are very bad, but they are very beau- 

 tiful, and unlike the poor and the Sparrows, we have them not " always with us." 

 Close observation makes one believe that the robins do comparatively little harm, as 

 they seldom if ever puncture the grapes, as they take aud swallow a whole berry at a 

 time, and I think three Concords is the maximum for a meal. ([Judge] W. L. Dn- 

 laney. ) 



[Bulletin No. 10, Division of Entomology, TJ. S. Department of Agriculture.] 



OUR SHA.DE TREES AND THEIR INSECT DEFOLIATORS. C. V. RILEY. 



(p. 31.) The fact that the caterpillar [of the white-marked tussock moth] makes 

 no effort to conceal itself shows that it enjoys immunity from enemies, and notably 

 from birds. In fact, the American Yellow-billed Cuckoo, the Baltimore Oriole, and 

 the Robin are the only birds which have been observed to feed upon the larva 1 . 



(p. 62.) All four of these insects [1, elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca; 2, bag-worm, Thy- 

 ridopteryx ; 3, tussock moth, Orgyia; 4, web-worm, Eypliantria] have a certain im- 

 munity from tho attacks of birds — No. 1 by virtue of an offensive odor, No. 2 by the 

 protection of its bag, Nos. 3 and 4 by the protection afforded by the hairs of the cater- 

 pillars, which are also mixed into their cocoons. A few native birds we have seen 

 occasionallyfeed upon Nos. 3 and 4; but the English Sparrow, to which, being emphati- 

 cally a city bird, we should look for help, has never been known to attack any of 

 them. In fact, we noticed and announced many years ago that in some of the north- 

 ern cities (as Boston aud Philadelphia) the increase of the Orgyia was indirectly a 



