SPARROWS AND FRUIT.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3354, 16 April 1868, Page 3

SPARROWS AND FRUIT.

Thb following discussion relative to the alleged injuries done to fruit by sparrows took place at the meeting of the Viotoriau Acclimatisation Society held on the 12th March last : — Mr. Levey observed that statements had been made in the newspapers of the injury done to the fruit trees by the sparrows, and wished to ask Professor McCoy whether tWe was any difference between the habits of the Chinese and English sparrow. Professor McCoy stated that the society bad introduced two species of sparrows— the house sparrow and what Mr. Levey had called the Chinese sparrow, or the sparrow which was termed in systematic books the tree sparrow. Tt was equally English with the house sparrow, and was as abundant there, and distinguished by the brown colour of the head. It was, however, more widely distributed geographically, and it was more its habit to live in hedge-rows and trees than in the vicinity of houses. He had no hesitation, however, in saying that the injury done to fruit by them was absolutely insignificant compared with the benefit they did by feeding the enormous numbers of their young exclusively upon grubs, and that the produce they thus saved in the vineyard and the garden was infinitely more important than any othermaterial which they used forf ood for themselves. The proceedings of the French commission on the subject were some years ago brought under his notice by Mr. Edward Wilson, and that gentleman suggested that he should do what was done with such excellent results by the French commission, namely, to have several birds killed and their stomachs exposed, so that the public might examine them and satisfy themselves, by positive proof, astowhattkey fed upon. From the investigations and discussions which had taken place on the subject, he had no hesitation in saying that the injury done by either one or other of these birds was insignificant, and entirely unworthy of notice There was no doubt that a great proportion of the injury done to the fruit was done not by sparrows, but by birds frugivorous in their habits. An esteemed member of this society, Colonel Champ, had tested this by watchin? the birds ; but the f«et seems to be overlooked by those who spoke of the sparrows. He did not hesitate to affirm — not as a matter of sentiment, but as a matter of fact— that the visits of the birds to fruitbearing plants were almost exclusively for the purpose of finding grubs for their young. Mr. Sblwyn mentioned a case in which a gentleman found that the injury done to his fruit was caused by tho native " ring-eves." The Bey. G. Ma.ck.ie said he had proclaimed war against the sparrows, but at the same time he esteemed very highly the work of this noMe society. His experience was totally the reverse of Professor McCoy's. He had watched the sparrows. He happened to have an acre aud a half of ground, orchard and shrubbery, around the new church at South Yarra. In the beginning of the season the church, being a Gothic one, attracted the sparrows, and they found it an exceedingly comfortable home. They first found that all the cherries were pierced. He had taken the precaution of personally watching them, and he had seen as many a3 750 of these imported sparrows at the cherries. Out of about 1501b. weight of cherries which were expected, they only got 61b. However, forgetting the cherries, he thought nothing more of the matter until the apricots came, and then they had only about two or three dozen from trees that used to have about 150. Then he found his viuts covered with a green grub, and he maae it his business to see whether master sparrow touched them. He did nothing of the kind. He took what was much better. Then out of some dozen plum trees, with perhaps 300 plums upon them, they did not get six pounds weight over the whole. Be had seen some four or five " ring-eyes" among the birds, but the principal depredators were sparrows. If any gentleman came down with him he could show them some one hundred bunches of wbat were once grapes, but were now sucked dry. He did not wish to annoy the society, or to do anything to interfere with its operations, but he must say this, and stand upon it— that he believed Professor McCoy himself would be convinced, if he saw one of these sparrows shot, that they ate other things than grubs. The Chairman was exceedingly sorry to hear the doleful account given by the rev. gentleman. However, there was no doubt that the sparrows were graminivorous, and that if he spread out some dirty wheat for them they would not touch hiß fruit any more. The Rev. G. Mackie stated that hia children had been constantly feeding the sparrows with grain, but that did not prevent them touching the fruit. Mr. Kotttledoe said, if the rev. gentleman lived in the Western District, where he was, he would be more generous to the sparrows. They would be very glad to have a number of them there. He might mention, for the gentleman's information, that if he got a hundredweight of rapeseed and scattered it about, it would feed the sparrows, and would prevent them touching his fruit much. In the western district, he had seen all the fruit eaten by native birds, and he for one would rather see the fruit eaten by sparrows than by the other birds. The subject then dropped.