Page:HouseSparrowGurney.djvu/72

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
58
THE ENGLISH SPARROW
1875. Sterling, E. Those Sparrows [Passer domesticus]. Rod and Gun, vi. July 31, 1875, p. 266.

Repeated spoliation of nests of robins and orioles by the sparrows.


1875. W. B. C. Sparrows [Passer domesticus]. Rod and Gun, vi. June 19, 1875, p. 187.

Ejectment of different birds from their homes by the sparrows.


1876. Muench, F. The European House Sparrow [Passer domesticus]. Rural World, Apr. 19, 1876; reprinted N. Y. Weekly Sun, May 24, 1876.

'Nothing eatable, if possibly accessible, is secure from his attack—garden products, as well as all kinds of fruit, cherries and grapes in particular; wheat-fields … what barns, stables, and houses contain, if not carefully guarded—will become his prey.'


1877. P[urdie], H. A. The Sparrow [Passer domesticus] in Boston. Boston Daily Advertiser, July 30, 1877.

A clear refutation of the assertions of T. M. Brewer and others, that the sparrow had been effective in destroying the Orgyia leucostigma, the trees being devastated by these insects, and the city forester having men at work still. 'All over the boles of the elms, maples, lindens, and other trees, might be seen crawling the larvæ … the completed cocoons were to be seen by thousands … not one is molested by passer domesticus.' The extracts from one of Dr. Brewer's articles, printed in the body of this paper, read very curiously in the face of the facts adduced. The writer had every opportunity for accurate observation.