2 The House S DAVvow. 
Sparrows had inhabited probably from their great- 
sreat-grandfathers’ time. | 
But we will now consider the good as well as the 
damage done by this bird. I will give a cursory view 
of both sides, and allow my readers to draw their own 
conclusions. There is no doubt that Sparrows, like 
boys and girls, and many other creatures, are at times 
inclined to be mischievous. They can, and really do, 
do a great deal of mischief, both to gardens and to 
fields ; but not, as we believe, to the extent with which 
they are usually charged. The mission of their instinct 
has a large element of gcod in it, both for the ground | 
and for the welfare of man. | 
Admitting its faults, let us carefully weigh the good 
which the Sparrow really effects. It is a great eater, 
and, though it feeds on corn in part, it has a quick 
eye and keen appetite for seeds of weeds, caterpillars, 
grubs, wireworms, and many more noxious insects, 
Now, here, if we consider only the number of small 
seeds consumed by it, which if allowed to grow would. 
most decidedly take away a very great deal of nourish- 
ment from the ground, and which, if allowed to seed 
again and again, would ultimately smother the land, 
or cause the farmer to pay much more for labour to 
