352 



in Sweden. It seems that on the island of Gothland Barley to the valae 

 of nearly half a million dollars was destroyed by this larva, while the 

 same insect destroyed fally a third of the Eye crop of the province of 

 Upland. We call attention to this as an item of news, but there is no 

 reason for calling this a new insect pest. It has been known in Europe 

 for many years, and was treated at considerable length by John Curtis 

 in his well-known work on " Farm Insects," published in Glasgow in 

 1860, and had for many years prior to that date damaged Rye, Barley, 

 and Wheat in England and on the continent. 



SPARROW DESTRUCTION IN AUSTRALIA. 



'' Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, consulting entomologist to the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England, has forwarded a donation of £5 to 

 be applied to the destruction of Sparrows in South Australia. A 

 subcommittee of the Royal Agricultural Society of South Australia has 

 undertaken to raise subscriptions in aid of this worthy object, and it is 

 proposed to have monthly competitions in the production of Sparrows' 

 heads and Sparrows' eggs. These competitions will take place after the 

 next autumn show in Adelaide. At the autumn show there will be a 

 grand prize competition, when j)rizes of £2, £L10s., 10s., and 5s. will be 

 offered for the largest numbers of Sparrows' heads, and the same value 

 in prize-money will also be offered for the largest numbers of Sparrows' 

 eggs. Additionally to this, every competitor who fails to secure a prize, 

 and yet brings in 100 or more heads or eggs, will receive a bonus of 2s. 

 6f/., and any one producing under 100 and not less than 50 heads or eggs 

 will receive a bonus of Is. These prizes and bonuses ought to encourage 

 the bo3^s to exert themselves. 



"An American paper tells us that : ' There is a scarcity of our native 

 song birds ; the Sparrow drives them away and destroys their eggs and 

 young. Dr. Merriam estimates that a pair of Sparrows in ten years will 

 increase to 275,710,983,698. They migrate over the country in grain 

 cars, in which they have been caged while stealing breakfast. They can 

 be destroyed by throwing down a handful of wheat and shooting among 

 them with fine shot. The owl and hawk are very helpful and should 

 invariably be spared.' 



*' In Victoria the fruit-growers are becoming alarmed at the depreda- 

 tions of the Sparrows, which are exceedingly' numerous. A bill was 

 lately i)laced before the legislature there, to provide means for reliev- 

 ing cultivators from this pest, but, as in South Australia, it was op- 

 posed by those who were not subject to losses, who were too indolent 

 to examine into the truth of the complaints made, or who were too self- 

 ish to interfere in a matter in which they were not directly and person • 

 all3' concerned. A few of the opponents were led away by statemenfes 

 that the Sparrow^ does little harm in its native home in England, but it 

 is a fact that it does a great deal of damage, though it is there kept 

 from increasing so rapidly as in Auscralia — first, by the colder weather, 



