1868.] The European 
seasons they have completely exter- 
minated them. In the summer of 1866 
the more central parks of New York 
were swept completely clean of these 
worms. The last season witnessed 
their entire disappearance from that 
place, as well as from the surrounding 
cities. An accomplished ornithologist, 
and an enthusiastic friend of the spar- 
row, George N. Lawrence, Esq., informs 
us that, so far as he could ascertain, not 
a single tree in all New York lost its 
foliage, during the last season, through 
the measure-worms. The sparrows 
were promptly on hand everywhere, 
the worms were eaten, and the trees 
saved from pillage. 
That the sparrow will, in like man- 
ner, attack and destroy the common 
canker-worm and the caterpillars of our 
gardens, when it comes in contact with 
them, there can be no reasonable doubt. 
If it will also war upon the curculio, 
which makes the raising of plums so 
nearly impossible, the measure of its 
usefulness will indeed be full. 
What harm sparrows may do to our 
wheat-fields, should they become abun- 
dant, can now only be conjectured. 
That they will ever be seriously injuri- 
ous, or an unmixed evil, we do not ap- 
prehend. One thing is at least certain, 
that, should the painful necessity ever 
arise, their numbers may at any time 
be lessened, both with ease and certainty, 
by the use of strychnine. 
To our winter scenery the sparrows 
add not a little interest. They are 
lively and entertaining birds. With- 
out having any very positive song, 
their notes are pleasant and cheerful. 
They are very hardy, and do not ap- 
pear in the least to heed our severest 
weather. In the last December, on a 
cold and bitter day, following a severe 
snow-storm, while the snow was still 
blowing in blinding showers, and the 
thermometer hardly ranged above zero, 
—when no one could keep abroad 
without great personal discomfort, — 
the writer found, in the church-green 
on the corner of Fourteenth Street, 
New York, a merry flock of these 
birds. They had collected together 
Flouse-Sparrow. 587 
under a snow-covered Norway spruce, 
and seemed to be having the jolliest 
time possible, utterly unmindful of the 
biting wind that was howling around 
them. Half frozen himself, their ad- 
mirer could not resist the temptation 
to stop a few moments and enjoy the 
scene ; and as he at last turned away he 
thought within himself, that, even if the 
worst anticipations of his scientific 
friend should be realized in regard to 
the destructiveness of the sparrows, yet, 
for the sake of their bright and cheerful 
companionship in the dreary desolation 
of our winter, he would still most cheer- 
fully pay his proportion of loss in an 
extra price for his flour, if need be. 
In New York the sparrows have en- 
thusiastic and ardent friends, who have 
provided them with commodious and 
attractive winter dwellings, with bright 
thatched roofs and projecting eaves. 
In some of the parks they are regularly 
fed. Although very tame, they are wary 
in regard to any real danger, and are on 
their guard against cats. Before their 
present homes were prepared for them, 
they roosted in the ivy, and built spher- 
ical nests among the leaves. Now they 
build open nests in their new homes, 
which they occupy throughout the year. 
They are very frolicsome and entertain- 
ing, especially after having been fed, 
and are a great source of amusement to 
the children, a favorite sport with whom 
is to throw up a feather in the air, in order 
to see the sparrows pursue it, and strive 
together which shall catch it and carry 
it off to his nest. 
In a word, the more we have studied 
the history and the evidences, touching 
the European sparrow, the better satis- 
fied have we been that a wise and bene- 
ficial movement has been made in their 
introduction into the country ; and we 
sincerely hope in time to find them 
completely naturalized and contentedly 
domiciled among us. 
We believe the first place to make 
the experiment of introducing the 
sparrow was Portland; where three 
pairs were set at liberty, in the sum- 
mer of 1852, in a garden in the heart 
of the city. That they have increased 
