109 



the nnmber of the Sparrows rapidly increasing in a 

 certain district in his kingdom, and believing that 

 great damage was done by them, gave an order that 

 every one of them should be destroyed. From the 

 moment that the order had been executed, the 

 people of that district could not raise anymore f nut, 

 as the insects destroyed it entirely. At last, they 

 laid their complaint before the King, who, after a 

 careful investigation of the circumstances, and after 

 the lapse of several years, each of which showed the 

 same result in regard to the raising of fruit, was 

 compelled to send for a supply of the Sparrows to 

 a great distance and at an enormous expense. The 

 Sparrows had hardly established themselves there 

 when the people were again able to raise fruit. 

 When a boy, this striking factwas frequentlymention- 

 in my hearing. It is referred to by Dr. Alfred 

 Brehm, Director of the Zoological Garden at Ham- 

 burg, in the third volume of his most admirable 

 work, das lllus trite Thierlehen, (the Illustrated Life 

 of Animals). I cannot give the page as my copy is 

 in the hands of the book-binder. Dr. Brehm is 

 the highest authority. He traveled many yeais all 

 over Europe, and several times in Africa ; the last 

 time as Naturalist, in company of the Duke of Saxe 

 Coburg, after the death of his brother. Prince Al- 

 bert, the husband of Queen Victoria. I risk no- 

 thing in saying that no similar work exists in any 

 literature. The greatest naturalists are unanimous 

 in its praise : I do not recollect a single instance to 

 the contrary. A man of Dr. Brehm's standing 

 would never relate what is not based on truth. 



Dr. H. 0. Lenz, in the Second Volume of his 

 classical Natural History, page 141, says, that he 

 knows of parts of Germany where it is in)possible to 

 raise fruit, on account of the insects which multi- 

 plied rapidly after the Sparrows had been too much 

 diminished. 



What naturalists, like Brehm and Lenz say is 

 certainly of greater weight than what people say 

 perfectly unacquainted with Natural History I 

 could mention scores of other naturalists, such as 

 Bechstein, Brehm, (the father, ) Pemnnik, Baje, 

 etc., but it would be useless : the worst class of the 

 deaf, viz : such as do not wish to hear, would not be 

 convinced. 



In many parts of Germany it loas, perhaps it is 

 still, the duty of the adult male inhabitants to de- 

 liver to a certain official of the Government, annual- 

 ly, from two to twelve Sparrows' heads, in order 

 to keep the number of birds within moderate 

 bounds. 



Fond of Natural History from childhood, I 

 availed myself of every opportunity of extending 



what knowledge I had. I read, many years ago, 

 an article in a periodical, published by a French 

 Naturalist who had counted the number of cater- 

 pillars which a pair of House Sparrows had carried 

 to their young, in a nest built under the roof of a 

 house opposite to that in which the Naturalist was 

 living, during six hours only. From a computation 

 based on that number, he derived the number of 

 caterpillars which, in this way, were destroyed in a 

 whole season, by a single pair of Sparrows. That 

 number was incredibly large, — as a pair of Sparrows 

 rear from twelve to eighteen young ones every year, 

 in two or three broods. The FOOD OF THE YOUNG 

 ONES CONSISTS EXCLUSIVELY IN CATERPILLARS 

 AND OTHER INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



It was Autumn when I read the article alluded to, 

 so that I was unable to test the correctness of the 

 observation. I went, however, out into the 

 fields shooting Sparrows, flocks of which were fre- 

 quent everywhere. The examination of several 

 dozen Sparrow stomachs showed a few grains of oats, 

 barley, &c., but many more seeds of weeds, and 

 small beetles, grasshoppers, worms, etc. In the 

 following winter I made an amngement in a room, 

 which was divided into two parts by a large net 

 stretched across it, to ascertain on what kind of food 

 Sparrows could be kept. The inhabitants of the 

 place took much interest in the matter, and sent me, 

 within a few weeks, sixty House Sparrows, which, 

 in the winter time, are easily caught, l^hirty of the 

 Sparroics received nothing hut grain of every descrip- 

 tion, mixed, viz.: wheat, rye, barley, oats, rape and 

 canary seed, etc., plenty of sand and water, tif- 

 teen received only meat, raw or boiled, but always 

 chopped fine, and also sand and water. The remain- 

 ing fifteen were hept on mixed food, viz.: grain, 

 bread, boiled potatoes, meat, etc. 



The result was most interesting : — 



Of the thirty Sparrows ivhich had to live on grain, 

 and seeds, exclusively, NOT ONE LIVED LONGER THAN 

 SIX WEEKS. They all died of consumption of the 

 stomach, — according to a learned physician, — a 

 friend of mine, who examined a great many very 

 carefully. 



The thirty Sparrows kept equally on meat or 

 mixed food, greio plump and fat, and were set at 

 liberty iii the following Spring, — NOT A SINGLE ONE 

 HAVING DIED. 



The result of my experiment proves conclusively 

 that the Sparrow cannot live on grain and seeds 

 alone, but that it requires insects or meat along with 

 them. 



I considered it to be my duty to dissuade from 

 the persecution of the Sparrows. I wrote articles 



