August 17, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
145 
Lily of the Valley and Carnationg, the scented varieties of the last 
named being preferred. A grand plant, 9 or 10 feet in height, of 
Chamserops Fortune!, on the lawn, has stood the test of many winters, 
and still looks well. The broad stretches of green sward are in excel¬ 
lent condition, and the cleanliness which pervades the whole place 
reflects credit on Mr. Garner and his assistants.—C. 
THE SPARROW AGAIN. 
Some few weeks ago we inserted several letters from, we may 
perhaps be permitted to say, sparrow friends and foes. We could not 
insert all that came to hand at that time, other subjects demanding a 
share of space ; but as some of the communications were too good to 
waste they were placed aside till a convenient opportunity offered for 
their appearance, and now we bring up arrears, 
Mr. Witherspoon is fortunate in having sparrows of a specially 
good variety. He should do his level best to keep the breed pure, and 
make his sparrows companions and friends. He should entice them to 
stop at home by growing corn in a milch state, or he will rue the day 
when some of his birds go for their holiday, and bring back to their 
home some of the “ scoundrel ” kind, which are plentiful over all the 
horticultural earth. 
I have in my garden a wire aviary, which contains, amongst other 
inhabitants, a white sparrow. The boughs of a Plum tree extend over 
the wirework of the aviary, and all the blossoms that fall through are 
eagerly snapped up by this sparrow. If he had his liberty I have not 
the least doubt but what he would do the same as Mr. Kaillem’s 
sparrows, and might be shot. 
Sparrows that have not previously started an establishment of their 
own feed their young at first on aphides, flies, and caterpillars ; but 
they soon degenerate, and find that their young are quite as easily 
reared on the soft food provided for young chickens, and with the 
exception of now and again chasing a white butterfly, give up all the 
trouble and difficulty of collecting insects of any kind. 
On the outskirts of this town (Lewes), and the first year I have ever 
known such a thing to occur, the jackdaws stripped the Cherry trees of 
all the fruit; in other years the starling has been the guilty party, and 
the rooks ate the Green Peas out of the pods in a wholesale way.— 
J. H. Verrall. 
The sparrow is becoming lower in my estimation daily. The rascals 
were lately caught ruining a row of Sweet Peas by pulling off the 
flowers. On mentioning this to the owner of the Peas he said, “ Yes ; 
they also kill my bees and eat them.” 
We have had many instances of the injury done by them in this 
country. Let us have a glimpse over the report of the American 
Ornithologist to the Department of Agriculture. This is his opinion :— 
“ The English sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a hardy, prolific, and 
aggressive bird, possessed of much intelligence and more than ordinary 
cunning. It is domestic and gregarious in habit, and takes advantage 
of the protection afforded by the proximity to man, thus escaping 
nearly all the enemies which check the abundance of our native birds. 
Its fecundity is amazing ; it hatches from five to six broods in a season, 
with from four to six young in a brood. We take the sparrow as an 
enemy. 
“1. The sparrow as an enemy of our native birds. 
“ Of all the native birds which habitually make their homes near the 
abodes of man, the martin is the only species which is able to hold its 
own against the sparrows ; and numerous instances are on record where 
sven the martin has been beaten and forced to abandon its former 
nesting place by these belligerent aliens, some of the martins having 
their eyes picked out. Dr. B. Harry Warren writes :—‘ Our native 
birds have rapidly and steadily diminished in numbers since the 
sparrow came. Former plentiful residents are rare. Even transient 
visitants and migrants have been so pressed by the usurper that they 
now seem to avoid certain parts as plague-stricken spots.’ 
“ 2. The sparrow as an enemy to gardeners and fruit growers. 
“ In addition to the indirect injury thus brought about by depriving 
our gardens and orchards of the protection afforded them by our 
insectivorous birds, the sparrow causes a positive and direct loss to our 
agricultural industries, amounting in the aggregate to not less than 
several millions of dollars per annum. The ravages done by the sparrow 
affect almost every crop produced by the farmer, fruit grower, and 
gardener, and extend over the entire year. Indeed, it is safe to say that 
ii now exerts a more marked effect upon the agricultural interest of 
America than any other species of birds, and its unprecedented increase 
and spread, taken in connection with the extent of its ravages in certain 
districts, may be regarded with grave apprehension. In the early spring 
it prevents the growth of a vast number of fruit by eating the germ from 
the fruit-buds of trees and bushes. The Peach, Pear, Plum, Cherry, 
Apple, Apricot, and Currant suffer most. The birds eat Green Peas as 
fast as they grow. They peck Apples, Peaches, and Grapes, causing 
them to decay upon the trees. Sparrows are worse than all the Apple 
pests combined. 
‘■3. The sparrow as an enemy to Grape culture. 
“ The Grape industry, which is one of rapidly increasing consequences 
in America, encounters in the sparrow an enemy second only to the 
phylloxera and certain fungus growths. Already in some parts of the 
East it has become such a scourge that Grape culture can no longer be 
carried on with profit, it being necessary to enclose the ripened clusters 
in paper bags to insure their protection. They have ruined the Grape 
crop almost wholly where unprotected. 
“ 4. The sparrow as an enemy to grain growers. 
“ Annoying and injurious as the sparrow is to the fruit grower and 
vegetable gardener, the loss it inflicts on the producer of cereals is even 
greater. Though for its permanent residence it prefers populous 
localities and places of abundant traffic and commotion, still, in 
anticipation of the harvest season, it gathers in enormous flocks, and 
leaving the cities and towns, moves off into the surrounding country to 
feed upon the ripening grain. Its consumption and waste of corn, 
Wheat, Rye, Oats, Barley, and Buckwheat in many parts of the 
country is enormous. It feeds upon the kernel when it is in the soft 
milky state, as well as when it has matured and hardened, and in fields 
of ripe grain it scatters upon the ground even more than it consumes. 
Instances have been reported where in the place of a full and fair 
crop only the straw remained to be gathered. 
“ 5. Failure of the sparrow as an insect destroyer. 
“ The sparrow was brought to America in the belief that it was an 
insectivorous bird, and with the expectation that it would devour the 
caterpillars which destroy the foliage of the Elm and other shade 
trees in the streets and parks. The utter futility of this hope has been 
demonstrated over and over again in cities and larger towns which are 
overrun with birds and caterpillars. 
“ Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, in her Ninth Report on ‘ Injurious Insects 
and Common Farm Pests,’ states that the sparrows drive off swallows 
and martins, thus permitting a great increase in flies and insects 
destructive in the garden and orchard. Miss Ormerod cites a case in 
which the destruction of the sparrow and the consequent reappearance 
of swallows and martins resulted in the abolishment of the insect pest, 
“ Mr. J. H. Gurney, junr., a well-known ornithologist, says :—i think, 
the sparrows do enough harm to warrant everybody to destroy them. 
Say one-fifth of good to four-fifths of harm is about what they do, take 
the country all over, though at certain times and places they do nothing 
but harm. I have striven to say what I could in their favour, being 
naturally a lover of birds. 
“ The destructive habits of the sparrow in Bermuda, Cuba, England, 
Germany, Austria, Russia, India, and Egypt, arc too well known to 
require more than passing observations. In England alone the damage 
it causes has been estimated at not less than 3,850,000 dols. per annum ; 
and in Australia the loss is much greater, as seen in the evidences 
collected and published by the Australian Government, that in the 
short space of ten days the sparrows took a ton and a half of Grapes.” 
What does J. Witherspoon say about these “ clouds of witnesses ?”— 
Davies Ddffryn. 
At page 484 last volume, Mr. Harrison Weir seems to think I regard the 
sparrow as harmless to the buds of Currants and Gooseberries. It is not 
the case. I am perfectly cognisant of the mischief they do in that 
respect; but although I have not observed them destroy Croci, I do not 
dispute the statements of others on the point. Mr. Harrison Weir 
doubts if sparrows or other birds will “ eat various kinds of caterpillars.” 
Here they eat the much-detested Gooseberry caterpillar, which few 
birds touch, as well as the leaf rollers and other sorts. If I read and 
interpret his article correctly in regard to the feeding of birds, he agrees 
with me on a very important point in the discussion. I know of many 
of the good and bad habits of the sparrow. My object in taking up the 
subject was to learn from others whether the good did not counter¬ 
balance the evil he is guilty of.—W. J. B. 
Man as the lord of creation was told to replenish the earth and 
subdue it, also to have dominion amongst other things over the fowls 
of the air. If we remember those two words “replenish” and “subdue,” 
we shall find in them authority to remove whatever may stand in the 
way of man’s progress in the march of civilisation, including sparrows. 
Fifty years ago there were more birds of prey than now to keep them in 
Subjection.— William Smith, 
PLATYCODON OR CAMPANULA. 
The note by “ A. D.” in the Journal of Horticulture of August 3rd, 
page 102, on these plants, and the excellent illustration on page 103-, 
under the name of Campanula grandiflora Mariesi, lends emphasis to 
the remark of your correspondent, “ Not very appreciable, if indeed 
is there any distinction between the Platycodons and Campanula 
grandiflora and its varieties. Possibly the distinction is found only in 
name, and if there be none, then the diverse appellations are 
misleading.” 
P. grandiflorum and C. grandiflora are synonymous, and much 
confusion is caused by the use of both names. Alphonse de_ Candolle 
is the authority for the genus Platycodon, the name of which is derived 
from broad, and kodon, a bell, on account of the shape of the 
flowers. I am not acquainted with the reasons which induced Do 
Candolle to separate the Platycodons from the Campanulas ; but the 
most distinctive feature from the garden point of view is the inflated 
appearance and flattened top (I mean flat relatively to the other 
Campanulas) of the Platycodons. This has given rise to the popular 
name of “ Balloon Flower.” The only advantage from a flower grower’s 
standpoint of a separation of the plants is that it is difficult to persuadi? 
