34 THK RELATION OF SPARROWS TO AGRICULTURE. 
Grasshopper sparrows, the most insectivorous of all eastern spar- 
rows, arc birds Of the Open fields, jusl as many of the Other species 
are birds of the hedgerows. One or two pairs chose for their breed- 
ing grounds one of the old cornfields jusl mentioned and raised their 
families amid the brier tangles thai claimed the field. No notes 
were made of the feeding habits of these. Several pairs, however, 
that nested in the adjoining hayfield were carefully studied. Among 
the differenl insects i\n\ to their young were grasshoppers <>r the 
genera Hippiscus, Dissosteira, Mdanoplus, Scvdderia, and Xiphi- 
dium; cutworms, army worms, and various related larva?; such hugs 
as Alydus pUostdus and Hymenarcys nervosa; and various spiders, 
including Ospyopes salticus. The parent birds ate spiders and grass- 
hoppers of the same kinds, witli beetles of the genera Systena, Sitones, 
and Af(inius, and such bugs as Alydus, Corizus, and Trichopepla 
semivittala. 
The record of the English sparrows at the Marshall Hall farm 
shows nothing to their credit. They have reduc d the wrens in num- 
ber, completely crowded out the bluebirds, and have stolen many of 
the nesting burrows in the exposed face of the bluff properly belong- 
ing to the bank swallows that daily come to the farm to circle over 
the fields for insects. Their slight value as insect destroyers could 
very profitably be dispensed with if the services of the indigenous 
species which they have driven away could be restored. Their num- 
ber seems to vary from 30 t,> 200. Each night they roost with the 
chickens among some cedar trees by the house, and in the daytime 
usually \\hh\ with the chickens and hogs or glean grain around the 
various buildings of the farm, particularly the corncrib. Such food 
as they secure in the field is usually grain, but very rarely weed seed. 
The\ damage the ripening oat and wheat crops, partly by pilfering 
the grain, but more by breaking down the stalks, and join the crows 
in their attacks on corn in the milk, though in this case they are able 
to do but little harm. Their habits contrast strikingly with those of 
the several native species frequenting t lie farm. 
The summer observations on the two farms, especially on that at 
Marshall Hall, give interesting and suggestive data concerning the 
relation of the native sparrows to agriculture. They show that the 
nesting habitats of the differenl species are so distinct and varied as 
to be complementary to one another. Chipping sparrows nest around 
the buildings, field sparrows in worn-out fields and briery pastures, 
vesper and grasshopper sparrows in Level hayfields, and song spar- 
rows in gullies and moist meadowsand along waterways, while juncos 
and white-throats have their nesting places in the high, lonely moun- 
tain clearings of t he north. The ranges of the various species become 
Less distinct after breeding time is over; but. though they blend and 
overlap, each species seems to continue its own peculiar work. 
During this period chipping sparrows cover a wide range — garden, 
