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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
April  7,  1904. 
hardly  known  in  gardens.  Its  beanty  is  great,  however,  and  in 
time  it  will  probably  be  in  demand  by  lovers  of  the  Crocus. 
Crocus  ^Erius. 
Although  this  lovely  little  Crocus  has  become  more  plentiful 
through  some  importations,  it  is  yet  far  from  common.  For 
ordinary  purposes  we  may  call  it  blue,  although  there  is  not  a 
truly  blue  Crocus  in  existence,  as  all  have  more  or  less  purple  in 
their  tints.  It  seems  rather  variable,  as  some  I  had  sent  me 
from  Asia  Minor  varied  in  shade,  and  among  them  were  some 
rather  prettily  marked  on  the  outside.  We  have  also  here 
another  form,  the  finest  I  have  yet  seen.  This  came  through 
Mr.  Smith,  of  Newry,  and  is  the  largest  and  most  ornamental 
form  of  C.  ferius  I  have  yet  cultivated.  It  is  lighter  in  the 
inside  than  the  others  I  have  cultivated  here. 
Crocus  Steberi  Purpureus. 
This  is  a  pretty  and  scarce  form  of  the  early  C.  Sieheri,  a 
general  favourite  with  those  who  know  it,  and  a  hardy  little 
flower  of  much  beauty.  It  is  fairly  well  known,  and  compara¬ 
tively  cheap,  but  the  darker  variety,  called  purpureus,  is  expen¬ 
sive  for  a  Crocus.  It  has  purple  flovers,  but  the  purple  is  not 
of  a  dark,  but  a  light  hue.  Although  one  cannot  say  that  the 
difference  in  shade  from  that  of  the  type  equals  the  monetary 
difference  in  cost,  this  variety  is  a  suitable  addition  to  a  col¬ 
lection  which  has  any  pretensions  to  being  anything  like 
complete. 
Many  others  are  in  flower,  hut  these  may  suffice  for  notice 
at  present. — S.  Arnott. 
— - - 
Phacelia  viscida. 
This  compact,  branching  Californian  annual  (of  which  an 
illustration  of  a  flowering  shoot  is  shown)  was  formerly  named 
Eutoca  viscida,  but  that  genus  has  been  submerged.  The  plant 
grows  about  1ft  high,  and  flowers  from  July  to  September,  the 
colour  of  these  being  blue  or  purplish.  Other  meritorious 
Phacelias  that  are  but  seldom  seen  are  campanularia,  Parryi, 
sericea,  grandiflora,  and  Whitlavia.  Seeds  may  be  sown  on  the 
open  borders  early  next  month. 
British  Birds. 
(Continued  from  page  276.) 
The  Greenfinch  (Fringilla  chloris)  frequents  gardens,, 
shrubberies,  and  cultivated  lands,  and  feeds  on  seeds  and 
insects.  Sometimes,  not  commonly,  it  plucks  up  sprouting 
seeds  and  .seedlings,  similar  to  the  chaffinch,  and  takes  a  share 
of  grain,  but  is  very  useful  in  destroying  weeds  or  their  seeds, 
such  as  Charlock,  Dandelion,  Groundsel,  Chickweed,  and  Plan¬ 
tain.  Though  sometimes  visiting  orchards,  fruit  plantations, 
and  gardens  in  flocks,  and  charged  with  taking  blossom  buds, 
I  have  not  found  an  authenticated  instance. 
The  Hawfinch  (Coccothraustes  vulgaris)  is  very  .shy,  and 
.seldom  ventures  out  of  thick  woods.  At  times  it  makes  descent 
upon  Peas  in  gardens  and  even  on  corn  in  fields.  It  feeds, 
however,  mostly  upon  what  it  can  obtain  in  the  woods,  copses, 
and  hedges,  feeding  upon  wild  fruits,  .such  as  Hornbeam,  Holly, 
Hawtliorn,  Dog  Rose,  &c. 
The  .Jay  (Garrulus  glanoarius)  is  rather  a  .sby  bird,  preferring 
to  reside  in  woods,  and  seldom  coming  into  the  open  country. 
It,  however,  visits  gardens,  and  devours  Peas  wholesale,  chiefly 
in  the  early  morning  and  evening,  and  is  very  difficult  to 
I'epress,  even  by  gun,  being  extremely  wary.  It  is  also  said  to 
fea.st  on  fruits,  especially  ripe  Cherries,  but  I  have  not  noticed 
this.  It  also  feeds  upon  acorns  and  beechmast.  For  worms, 
.snails,  cockchafers,  and  other  insect  pe.sts  or  their  larvie  it  has  a 
sti'ong  appetite,  also  for  mice,  eggs,  and  young  birds. 
The  House  Sparrow  (Pas.ser  domesticus)  is  active  and  fear¬ 
less.  The  food  of  the  birds  consi.sts  of  grain,  vegetable  sub¬ 
stances,  and  insects,  therefore  they  are  useful  to  horticulturists 
and  arboriculturists,  also  agriculturists  in  their  raids  on  destruc¬ 
tive  in.sect  larvm  when  rearing  their  young.  When  numerous, 
however,  the  adult  birds  and  fledged  young  sometimes  do  con¬ 
siderable  damage  in  gardens  and  fields.  They  are  the  most 
de.structive,  because  most  numerous,  near  towns  and  farmsteads. 
In  gardens  they  devour  siirouting  seeds  and  seedlings,  such  as 
Lettuce,  Radish,  Salsafy,  Turnip,  and  all  the  Brassica  tribe; 
feed  on  tops  of  Peas,  Lettuces,  Spinach,  especially  winter 
Spinach  ;  destroy  buds  of  Plum  trees.  Gooseberry  and  Currant 
bushes,  and  sometimes  pull  the  blossom  of  Apple  trees  in  pieces ; 
tear  Polyanthus  and  Crocus  blooms,  not  infrequently  attacking 
Carnations.  In  fields  the  adult  birds  and  young  of  the  season 
feed  upon  the  ripening  grain,  and  live  almost  exclusively  in  the 
fields,  deserting  the  towns,  villages,  and  farmsteads  for  a  time, 
liater,  they  live  mainly  round  human  habitations,  taking  grain 
from  the  stacks  and  poultry  yards,  and  in  towns  and  villages 
doing  much  scavenger  work  about  dwellings  and  in  streets, 
yards,  Ac.  Ricks  and  thatch  are  damaged  by  them,  and  rain¬ 
water  pipes  are  frequently  blocked  by  their  nests,  and  it  is  said — 
I  have  not  seen  this — to  oust  the  swalloiv  and  house  martin  from 
nesting.  The  other  side  of  the  sparrow  question  is  the_  bird’s 
clo.se  association  with  man,  his  ways  of  scattering  their  food 
about  cau.ses  them  to  become  scavengers ;  they  eat  vast  quanti¬ 
ties  of  weed  seeds,  feed  largely  upon  small  caterpillars  and 
aphides,  devour  not  a  few  moths,  with  some  butterflies,  and  rear 
their  young  more  upon  insect  food  than  any  other  kind.  Such 
are  my  observations  of  half  a  century. 
Thinning  the  number  of  sparrows  is  the  wisest  course.  In 
most  localities  the  sparrow-catcher,  with  a  purse-net,  captiires 
sufficient  birds  to  pay  him  for  its  employment  at  night  against 
ivy-clad  buildings,  hay  or  corn  stacks,  or  over  evergreen  bushes, 
and  in  mo.st  cases  clears  these  creatures  quite  fa.st  and  clo.se 
enough  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the  gardener  and  town 
denizen,  for  these  may  and  should  protect  their  crops  of  plants, 
flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  With  the  former  it  is  different. 
He  is  practically  at  the  mercy  of  the  townsman,  it  being  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  cultivate  cereals  profitably  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  villages  and  towns.  Farmers  may  help  themselves 
by  cle.s'troying  eggs  and  broods  in  the  breeding  season  through 
the  agency  of  sparrow  clubs.  What  use?  The  great  breeding 
place  of  sparrows  is  the  town  and  its  environs,  from  whence  the 
birds,  old  and  young,  depart  in  flocks  to  the  fields,  and  reap,  in 
many  cases,  more  grain -than  the  farmer  does.  Let  the  towns¬ 
man  pay  for  this  Through  the  County  Council  appointing'  an 
assessor  of  damages  to  crops  by  sparrows,  and  requite  the. 
farmer  for  his  loss  o,ut  of  the  rates.  The  burden  would  then 
fall  equally  on  all,  and  it  would  soon  end  the  plethora  of 
sparrows. 
The  Crossbill  (Loxia  curvirostris),  formerly  very  destructive 
to  orchards  by  splitting  Apples  in  halves  so  as  to  get  at  the 
pips,  is  now  too  rare  to  do  any  damage.  The  principal  food  is 
seeds  from  Fir  cones. 
The  Common  Bunting  (Emberiza  miliaria)  collects  in  large 
flocks  in  the  late  summer,  autumn,  and  winter,  and  feasts  upon 
corn  in  fields  and  rickyards.  Its  principal  food  is  the  seeds  of 
weeds. 
The  Yellowhammer  (Emberiza  citrenella)  is  not  nearly  so 
common  as  the  preceding  species,  though  similar  in  habits,  teed- 
