656 
Our Animal Enemies 
'November, 
find the hateful enemy in possession. We fear, from a 
variety of fafts which come under our notice, that the 
swallow and the martin are becoming decidedly less abun- 
dant in Britain, and that this decrease is owing in great part 
to the increase of the sparrow. We know an instance of a 
mansion in Essex, standing in its own grounds of about 
80 acres, where the swallows were till lately very numerous. 
They were considered by the proprietor and his family as 
most welcome visitants, since the neighbourhood is in sum- 
mer much infested with gnats and midges. But though 
protected from all ordinary forms of molestation they have 
gradually become less and less numerous, and this year, if 
we remember rightly, none at all have put in an appearance. 
In former seasons it has repeatedly happened that their 
young brood has been thrown down by the sparrows, and 
more than once an intruding hen sparrow has suffered death 
on being caught in a swallow’s nest. 
Now if we remember that gnats are found to be not a mere 
irritation or annoyance, but conveyers of disease, the pre- 
servation of the swallow and of every gnat-destroyer becomes 
a point of sanitary policy, and is consequently a national 
concern. The question therefore arises whether a war of 
extirpation against the sparrow should not be undertaken in 
a more general and systematic manner than has heretofore 
been the case. 
Turning from birds to Batrachians we find a shade of 
doubt attaching to the toad, — an animal which we have 
hitherto regarded as an unimpeachable friend. His services 
against slugs, wood-lice, and a number of garden-pests, are 
generally recognised. But we have heard it latterly asserted, 
by persons whose evidence is entitled to some respeft, that 
he has been seen in the very aft of devouring strawberries. 
We by no means consider the proof sufficient, and hope that 
our sober friend may yet be found entitled to an honourable 
acquittal. But we recommend close observation during the 
ensuing season. Nothing short of being seen in the very aft 
ought to suffice, since a bitten strawberry may be, and gene- 
rally is, the work of snails or slugs. All our knowledge, 
indeed, concerning the habits of the toad and his allies 
militates plainly against his proving to be a fruit-eater, but 
we have had abundant proof that the habits, of animals often 
differ strikingly from what their structure and their affinities 
seem to warrant. 
Concerning noisome and destructive insefts there is this 
season but little to remark. The crane-fly, or daddy long- 
legs ( Tipula oleracea), has been found in many parts of 
