Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-20

The Engli.h sparrow Question Again.

The Engli.h sparrow Question Again.
To the Editor Of THE EVENING STAR:
Mr.. Henning's interesting and courteous arti-
Gle in your issue of September 18th, calling upon
me to prove some of the statements made in
my article on the sparrow question (see STAR Of
September 8th), is my excuse for again asking
space In your valuable paper. 1t was my desire
not to further record my views upon this SUBJ
ject, but under the circumstances cannot Well
refuse to accept the invitation to do so; and
would further add, by way Of apology for not
attending to the matter sooner, that have been
absent from the city during the greater portion
of the month succeeding the publication of MIR.
Hennings article.
AS to the first matter requiring consideration.
/ am, much to my regret, unable to furnish the
direct proof asked for, since did not become
resident of Washington until 1870 or only year
or two POSSIBLY three years. before the spar
rows were introduced; consequently, l am
unable to prove from my own experience, the
contrary of MI. Hennng's statement i. e., that
the foliage on our trees for the last ten years
will more than fayorably compare with
any similar previous period" This much can
say, however: do not remember any time dur
ing the brief period that resided here previous
to the establishment of the sparrow when the
elm trees were as badly defoated as many OF them
have been the past summer; and Also that
90 remember with great distinctness the fact
that during the time in question at least eleven
species of native birds bred regularly. and in
their normal abundance, within the limits of the
Smithsonian grounds. the species that l can
readily call to mind being the following: Robin,
catbrd, house wren, summer yellowbird,
warbling vireo, chipping sparrow. song spar
row, Baltimore oriole, orchard oriole, purple
grakle Cor blackbrd) and wood pewee. Seve-
raj Others might be mentioned as formerly
breeding in these grounds but those named
were common-quite as much so as in average
rural localities. 1t certainly would have been
more than half OF the species named
in the preceding list, few lingering
catbirds in the most retired clumps of bushes. a
very limited number OF song sparrows, and a
colony of blackbirds being about all that have
retained foothold. The blackbrd, by the way.
occasionally eats the young OF the imported spar
row, and probably, when it can get hold Of
them, of other species also; but at the same
time it destroys vast number of Injurious
worms, grubs. caterpIllars, etc:
ton in the number Of native birds in the parks
and larger private grounds Of this city. of
which the only evident cause is their crowding
out by the sparrows. am unable to see any
such compensation in the way Of benefit to the
and in ''ee this "' conn ss n ''a would
like to ask whether the alleged improvement of
this kind may not be due rather to the inteli-
gent disbursement of funds which have been
appropriated for the care OF the public grounds.
including the shade trees along the streets? Be
this as it may L had occasion TO notice. during a
recent trip through southeastern New York and
part OF New Jersey, that in almost every town
or village where elm trees were seen they were
as completely denuded Of their leaves as it is
possible for them to be at this season Of the
year. many OF them being nearly as bare as in
mdwnter. 1t was likewise noticed (and the
association of facts struck me as being singu-
larly suggestive) that not a few of these naked
trees contained several sparroWs nests. some of
them half ia dozen or more, reminding me, in
their position and general appearance, of
punches Of mistletoe, which are often so con-
sp!cuous in winter among naked tree tops in
some Of our southern woods. In the places
where these observations were made the spar
rows were certainly not less numerous than in
Washington, yet they had utterly failed to pro-
tect the very trees which had been chosen for
their nests,
Having nothing further bearing directly upon
this part Of the subject to add from my own ex-
perience. would refer Mr.. Henning to an ac-
count (nOt by myself in the American Naturalist
of February 1880, Of how chipping sparrows
made regular daily visits to a garden for the eX-
press purpose of eating cabbage worms, which
the more numerous imported sparrows were OBJ
served to almost wholly neglect.
Passing by several minor points which it Is
not necessary to discuss here. come to one
which appears to me ambiguous at least am
not sure that understand it correctly. 1t is as
follows: ''His little episode Of 'claim-jumping
by the European sparrow, I think, has already
been pre-empted by some Of our native species,
as probably some OF the books on his shelves will
bear record" lam not able to recall any instance
atfOrding quite parallel case. and certainly
none Of our native birds modest others to any
thing like the same extent that the imported
sparrow does My little episode" is but one
of hundreds on record all of them likewise
q very marked trait of the sparrOw's
character. This, however, is a very different
thing from true pugnacity, Of which the spar
rows possess their null share, being among hena-
selues Of an exceedingly quarresome DISPOSE
ton.
The extraordinary fecundity of the imported
sparrow was, of course, we'll known to me,
there was no special occasion to refer
to it in my article Indeed, it is this one fact
ground for most serious apprehension. The
quotation from IAN English authority" alleging
great benefit by the sparrow in destroying
insects. and asserting disaster as follow
ing their destruction In France, is by
to d contrary views w0 eK
pressed by high authorities In Europe. In fact,
there, as with us, the bulk of evidence is de-
cidedly against them, although one important
thing should not be lost sight of, viz: that in
Europe the sparrow forms one OF the original
elements IN the equilibrium of nature, while
here its presence disturbs that equilibrium. Mr..
Henning evidently overlooked this fact when he
referred to the crow in this connection. fully
agree with him regarding this much prosecuted
bird; indeed. believe the crow to be very much
more useful than the European house sparrow,
and believe that, Notwithstanding the consider
able amount Ofdamage he does 20 the corn crop. he
much more than makes it up by the destruction
of incaculable quantities of injurious worms,
grubs and other vermin. The comparative use =
fulness of the two may be summed up thu s:
The crow is omnivOrous. preferring animal diet,
and, on account OF their greater abundance,
lives chiefly upon insects. The sparrow. on tho
other hand, is essentially granivorous, insects
constituting a relatively unimportant item in ms
bill of fare All birds of the sparrow tribe
(Fringiuidg) are likewise chiefly granivorous
but among the native species there is not one
but which eats insects to at least as great an
extent as the introduced bird The only differ
ence in favor of the latter is it's greater abund.
ance; and it seems to me that the matter may
be simplifed into the question of whether this one
fact alone ITO be considered in the light of pub
lie benefit or misfortune.
The clipping from Forest and Stream entitled
ga voice for the Sparrows," and to the effect
that ''the great depredations of the Hessian fly
and the wheat worm among the grain in many
sections of Chester and Delaware counties is as
cribed to the vast slaughter Of the English spar
rows" would have an important bearing on the
case were the statements therein contained even
approximately correct. The trouble is that &C