336 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



[Mr. Alfred Ellis (livirig near Leicester).] 



[Page 52.] In my neighborhood the House Sparrow is not injurious to any consider- 

 able extent, except just when the corn begins to harden, or gets sufficiently formed to 

 enable him to take it from the chaff, then he is very destructive; during the other 

 part of the year he feeds largely on insects. The Sparrows in our neighborhood re- 

 main in the fields late in the autumn, much after the gathering in of the harvest, and 

 a long time after there is an ear of corn in the fields ; they feed then in large flocks 

 entirely on seeds, the seeds of weeds. I may state that I have seen the Sparrow in 

 contest with the martin for the martin's nest. He drives the martin from his nest to 

 some extent, particularly toward the latter part of the summer. I do not recollect 

 an instance of where a Sparrow dispossessed a martin during the first brood of the 

 martin, but in a large colony of martins I think I have seen as much as 25 per cent, 

 of the nests occupied by Sparrows in the second brood of the martins, or rather what 

 would have been the second brood. I have not observed that other birds are driven 

 away by the Sparrow. 



[Mr. Alfred Ellis.] 



[Page 56.] The Sparrow is certainly powerful enough to turn out the martin, and 

 he does it. The martin is one of the most useful birds. The Sparrow is mischievous 

 during the time when the corn is first hardening; on the first ripening of the corn 

 you will find the Sparrows constantly in the field up to the time of the gathering in 

 of the harvest, perhaps in the midland counties from the first week in July to the 

 middle or end of October. * * * I do not think the Sparrow does very much harm 

 in the gardens ; I have seen destruction caused by it in rad'sh beds and young lettuce 

 beds. (June 26, 1873.) 



[Mr. R,. Scot-Skirving, gentleman farmer.] 



[Page 63.] I would exempt the House Sparrow (from protection) ; nine-tenths of 

 the House Sparrow's food is insects, particularly caterpillars. As a farmer, I would 

 not be frightened of the damage they do; the damage they do to farmers is much 

 more apparent than real, because they eat corn as it ripens along the hedge-side, 

 generally near the f'armsteading ; they do not scatter themselves over the fields; they 

 will utterly destroy a quarter of an acre, perhaps, but they will never touch anything 

 else. However, they do terrible damage to gardens ; they kill off the very young veg- 

 etables when they first come up from the ground ; they will eat up a whole crop of x>eas 

 if they are allowed. I have watched them feeding their young, and I have seen them 

 coming with green caterpillars from the bushes and trees ; when they were thought 

 to be doing damage they were killing caterpillars. 



[Rev. J. Pemberton Bartlett. Residence at Exdmry, in the New Forest.] 



[Page 68.] The Sparrow undoubtedly does harm in gardens; he does a certain 

 amount of harm, but if he does harm for three months in the year he does good for the 

 other nine months, w' ich counterbalances it. I have opened the crops of the young 

 and I have watched the old birds carrying green caterpillars up to their nests. I have 

 dissected young birds enough to get a knowledge of what they are fed upon. In the 

 breeding time they are nearly always full of insects, caterpillars, etc. The majority 

 of their food for a certain time is insectivorous. I have sometimes found them with- 

 out any vegetable food, and at other times there has been a mixture of green food, but 

 the insect food always preponderates decidedly over the vegetable. With regard to 

 the martins, certainly he does drive them away ; I had all my martins driven away 

 three years ago by Sparrows. I have known the birds take possession of all their 

 nests, and drive them away. This year the martins have come back again, and the 

 Sparrows have not attacked them yet. (June 28. 1873.) 



