THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND HORTICULTURE. 



747 



A large, coal-black aphis or plant-louse has been 

 a serious pest. It is the worst aphis with which I 

 have ever had experience, and every effort should be 

 made to prevent its becoming established on the plants. 

 It can be destroyed by the fir-tree oil, as above 

 The powdery mildew [Oidinm erysiphoides var. cucur- 

 bitaruni) is a serious enemy to cucumber culture if it 

 once gains a good foothold. It will soon ruin the plants. 

 It is a mold-like mildew, appearing in large white spots 

 upon the leaves. Our earliest treatments of this fungus 

 were made with sulphide of potassium, but we later 

 used the ammoniacal carbonate of copper with better 



success.* But evaporated sulphur appears to be better 

 than either. Flowers of sulphur is placed in a small 

 basin and set upon a small oil-stove in the greenhouse. 

 The house is tightly closed, and enough sulphur is evap- 

 orated to completely fill the house with strong fumes foi 

 a half hour. Care must be exercised that the sulphur 

 does not take fire, for burning sulphur is very injurious 

 to plants. By a proper use of this means we entirely 

 cleared our house of the mildew last spring. 



L. H. Bailey. 



* Three ounces of carbonate copper dissolved in one quart 

 ammonia. Dilute with water to 25 gallons. 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW 



A MUCH-ABUSED IMMIGRANT, WI 



VE HAVE been roundly criticised for taking 

 grounds somewhat favorable to the Eng- 

 lish sparrow. We are not prejudiced for 

 or against this bird, or any bird, save that in gen- 

 eral we recognize in the feathery tribes most im- 

 portant alHes against the increasing hordes of in- 

 sects, and therefore are glad to cherish them as 

 far as consistent. Our point in favor of the Eng- 

 lish sparrow is simply this : After seventeen years 

 experience in gardening, in which period we have 

 always been surrounded by the lively little Euro- 

 peans, we have yet to record the first serious objection 

 to them as coming under our own actual observation. 

 As much as this cannot be said for our other favor- 

 ite, the robin, because we have been obliged to share 

 so many cherries with him. In Buffalo and other 

 towns where the rank-growing Virginian creeper 

 covers the sides of many bOiildings, the sparrow 

 found in the growth a congenial place of abode ; 

 and this meant noise, filth, and a consequent 

 enmity to the bird. Of late, however, the much 

 handsomer close-clinging Avipclopsis Veitchii has 

 largely superseded its relative named, and in this 

 we think the sparrow does no bad work. 



AND HORTICULTURE. 



H VIRTUES WORTH CONSIDERING. 



We now request reports of experience, so that we may 

 learn whether our observation is exceptional. A free 

 expression from all horticulturists for publication would 

 be welcome. We desire your actual observation as to 

 the injurious habits, or otherwise, of this bird, outside of 

 its occupying the Virginia creeper where grown against 

 buildings. We want no guess-work, no quotations from 

 "experts," no hearsay statements; but purely what 

 your own eyes have seen, unfavorable or otherwise to 

 the sparrow. 



Regarding the charge that the sparrow drives away 

 other birds, our experience by no means supports such 

 a charge, and our grounds are thronged with large 

 numbers of birds. One forgets from year to year ■ 

 hence it is difficult to speak with much positiveness 

 on this point. That they appropriate bird-boxes is 

 true ; but with us trees are so numerous that we have 

 never felt the need of erecting bird-boxes. 



Now for a wide expression of observations regarding 

 this much-discussed bird ; let us know whether the de- 

 strucive pursuit of it is right or wrong. In Pennsylvania 

 a practical indication of complete reversal of opinion 

 on this subject was the repeal of a scalp bounty act for 

 supposed injurious birds, which, upon closer investiga- 

 tion, were found to be decidedly beneficial. — The 

 Editor. 



