THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



259 



the Entomologist), he finds by the new 

 list that potyodon, formerly conspiciUaris, is 

 rare, and he announces the fact under the 

 head of captures. Nor is this the only 

 species in which a similar blunder might be 

 made. It would have been best had the 

 Entomological Society of London given us 

 a list, but failing that, the proper thing 

 would have been to allow Mr. South's list 

 to stand on its own merits. Those who 

 approved of his changes would adopt them, 

 and in using the new names the old ones 

 should for some time to come be placed in 

 parenthesis behind them, or the old names 

 could be used with the new names in paren- 

 thesis, as we have used them above. This 

 would have given the new list fair-play, and 

 not created the antagonism to it that the 

 arbitrary attempt to force it into use has 

 brought into existence. 



DEATH TO THE SPARROWS. 



While farmers have been busy gathering 

 in the bountiful harvest, our leading papers 

 have been loud in their denunciation of the 

 poor sparrow. The London Daily press and 

 The Provincial press agree, irrespective of 

 politics, that the sparrows should be stamped 

 out. Thoy admit that they may sometimes 

 eat an odd insect or two, but the amount of 

 grain they are assumed to destroy more than 

 equals the value of services rendered in insect 

 destruction. Elaborate statistics are gravely 

 given. Thus we are told that 300,000 spar- 

 rows inhabit the county of Norfolk alone — an 

 increase of one-third since the last census 

 (we beg pardon), during the last fifty years 

 "A further calculation" — we are quoting the 

 Birmingham Daily Post—" grounded on dis- 

 sections, assures us that one thousand spar- 

 rows will devour about a quarter of corn per 

 week." The writer goes on to calculate the 



enormous loss to the agriculturist from this 

 cause alone. 



We too have reason to mourn over the 

 destructive tastes of sparrows. Once upon a 

 time we were the happy possessor of a race 

 of Abraxas grossulariata that produced per- 

 fectly black larvae. Proud of our prize, we 

 thought to acclimatize them to our own gar- 

 den. Wallace and Darwin said birds would 

 not touch the larva of this insect, and in a 

 moment of confiding rashness we turned out 

 our entire brood on our goosebery bushes ; 

 but these destructive demons pounced upon 

 the bushes and the race of black larvae per- 

 ished. Not content with thus cruelly betray- 

 ing one who trusted them, they hopped off to 

 an oak-tree, where we had placed a large 

 brood of B. Peryrii. We fondly thought these 

 would be too big for any bird likely to come 

 our way ; but the sparrows evidently did not 

 like the way the leaves were disappearing, 

 and in a trice the tree was cleared of larva?. 

 We have never trusted them since, nor do we 

 ever lose an opportunity of destroying their 

 eggs and young. But it seems odd that the 

 farmer, who does not want insects, and the 

 entomologist, who does, should agree in de- 

 nouncing this bird. It is odd, too, that this 

 complaint has only originated since our laws 

 have been peifected (!) for the protection of 

 our useful, and the utter elimination of our 

 useless, feathered population. 



We used to hear a great deal about the 

 " balance of power " as affecting the condition 

 of Europe. This State could not be allowed 

 to extend its borders — that one must be pro- 

 tected and upheld. As many wars have 

 devastated Europe to keep up this " balance 

 of power " as could possibly have taken place 

 without it. But our legislators, who can see 

 the advantage of no portion of the common- 

 wealth obtaining undue power as affecting 

 our artificial political boundaries, can not see 

 that it is of any consequence if the " balance 

 of power" in nature be destroyed. They 

 could not interfere by Act of Parliament with 



