498 



SCIENCE, 



[Vol. VI., No. 148. 



they were abundant during the summer. A patch of 

 woods close by harbored many native birds which 

 occasionally strayed into trees near the house. As 

 soon as one of these ventured to alight on a branch, 

 the sparrows would desert the eaves of the house and 

 settle on the tree, and there they would chirp and 

 chatter till the other bird was literally driven away. 

 Eobins and flickers were greatly annoyed, but the 

 cat-bird flirted his tail in disdain, and seemed to be 

 the only one which could not be driven away. 



As for their insectivorous habits, I have been 

 informed by Mr. Charles Dury that he has dissected 

 forty or fifty of the birds which were shot at different 

 times and places during two years. In none of these, 

 with but a solitary exception, did he find a trace of 

 the remains of an insect. Every one was filled with 

 seeds of one sort or another ; and he concluded the 

 insect had been picked up and swallowed by mistake. 

 Still, it would appear that numbers of cicadas were 

 killed, though not eaten by the birds, here as well as 

 in Washington. 



As far as the extermination of the sparrow goes, 

 it does not seem a difficult task. Let the laws pro- 

 tecting it be repealed. Let a bounty be offered for 

 every scalp, and free permission to kill whenever 

 and wherever found would tend to rapidly diminish 

 the number of the pests. The increase in number is 

 largely due to the protection afforded by law, and by 

 the sentiment of people. If wolves, bears, and 

 panthers can be exterminated by the means above 

 spoken of, there seems little reason to say that the 

 same result would not follow with the sparrow. 



Jos. F. James. 

 Cincinnati, Nov, 27. 



I would like to give some information in regard to 

 the habits of the English sparrows, which I hope will 

 soon be stamped as outlaws, and a price put on their 

 heads, like unto those of all marauders. 



They not only drive away our native birds, but are 

 the worst enemies of the fruit-grower and gardener. 

 They are not scavengers, but, on the contrary, by 

 their habits become defilers of human dwellings and 

 water. I will give such facts as came to my notice 

 during many years of observation at my home in 

 Hudson county, N.J., which will substantiate the 

 above assertions. 



We had provided numerous boxes for nests for 

 bluebirds and wrens in the trees, and before the 

 introduction of the English sparrows in New York, in 

 1864, these were invariably occupied by the same 

 family each spring : additional nests were always 

 soon occupied. Any one acquainted with these pretty 

 little singers will understand the peculiar charm they 

 lend to a country home. During the summer-time 

 the grove would be full of thrushes, who would build 

 their nests in the vinderbrush, and fill the morning 

 and evening air with their melodious song. 



Within four years after the introduction of English 

 sparrows, they had found their way to our home, and 

 immediately began harassing the bluebirds, some- 

 times destroying their nests. As soon as we noticed 

 this, we took the part of our pets the bluebirds, and 

 would fight the sparrows at every point. This was 

 soon noticed by the bluebirds ; and it actually hap- 

 pened, that, when hard pressed by the sparrows, they 

 would fly close to the house, to attract our attention 

 to their trouble by plaintive cries. We succeeded in 



protecting them for a few years ; but, with the rapid 

 increase of the sparrows, the bluebirds have left their 

 former abodes, never to return to them except as 

 travellers. 



When we noticed that the wrens were harassed in 

 a similar manner, we made the entrance holes to the 

 boxes so small that sparrows could no longer enter. 

 We then found that the sparrows would take turns 

 about sitting on the perch in front of the opening 

 until the old wrens had left, or until the young ones 

 were starved. In two cases we found that old wrens 

 had been kept imprisoned until starved to death by 

 the sparrows preventing their exit. We did all we 

 could to drive them off, — shot them with guns, caught 

 them in traps, destroyed their nests, etc.; but all in 

 vain. They learned to recognize a gun, and, as they 

 always have guards in a flock, a signal from a guard 

 would scatter them to the winds instantly. They 

 could only be caug-ht in traps for but a short time^ 

 when again they would become acquainted with 

 them, and avoid them. The best way to drive them 

 away seems to be to destroy their nests without 

 tiring ; then they will partly leave. They would 

 fight the brown thrush, and scatter its eggs, when- 

 ever opportunity presented itself, and seemed to take 

 particular delight in pulling the nests to pieces to 

 build their own with the debris. 



In spring they destroy the strawberries, to begin 

 with, and attack every variety of fruit, except cur- 

 rants, gooseberries, and apples. They do not feed on 

 cherries to make their living, like native birds, but 

 merely take a bite of each berry, and destroy it 

 wantonly. When pears are ripe, they will peck 

 large holes in them to drink the juice. They generally 

 appropriate half our vineyard, and cannot be fright- 

 ened by scarecrows. They invariably keep them- 

 selves busy, when not hungry, by picking off young 

 sprouts, especially of fine plants and rose-bushes, but 

 do not spare trees. It seems that they do this merely 

 to keep themselves busy. In addition to the above, 

 they do not destroy worms which build a web, 

 although they probably destroy chrysalides or open 

 cocoons in winter-time, when they can find no other 

 food. We have never seen them destroy worms in 

 summer-time, when other food is abundant. 



G. C. Henning. 



Louisville, Ky., Nov. 27. 



A nevr variable. 



As an item of interest for your astronomical notes, 

 I send the following : — 



I have discovered the star D.M. + 27,3890, to be a 

 variable of the rj Aquilae type. 



A preliminary reduction of the observations so far 

 obtained, from which a light curve has been formed, 

 indicates strongly that the period will not vary much 

 from four and a half days. The approximate limits 

 of fluctuation I find to be from 5.6 to 6.7 mag. The 

 position of the star for 1855.0 is E.A. 20^1 45™ 19^.4; 

 decl.+27°42'.3. 



The star is likely to prove an interesting one, 

 owing to its short period, there being only three 

 known variables of this type with shorter periods. 



The variability and character of the light changes 

 have been confirmed by Mr. S. C. Chandler, jun., of 

 the Harvard college observatory. 



Edwin F. Sawyer. 



Cambridgeport, Mass., Nov. 30. 



