SPARROWS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 432, 23 February 1875, Page 2

SPARROWS.

We bave had occasion once or twice to advert; to the action of the Acclimatisation Society, ami we have not always been able to bestow uponHJhatf 1 body unqualified praise. With all their good intentions we have been inclined to think they have taken frequently a wrong view of thfir position here, and have aimed at their introduction of various animals le^s with the idea of conferring practical benefit on the country than with that of providing amusement for a select few. But we do not now propose to dwell upon the proceedings of .the society generally. Whatever may have been their shortcomings in some things, there is no douht that they have done, on the whole, very good work. And we have been glad to see that of late years bhey have been gradually moi*e and more turning their attention to the introduction of birds to destroy the insect pests which devour our corn :md our fruits. With regard to one point, however, we hardly think the society has takAi% right course. Our readers will remember that a Ypw weeks ago the Council of the Society agreed to Recommend to his Honor the Superintendent that he should issue a proclamation permitting anyone to shoot sparrows. We are not aware what his Honor's decision has been, the proclamation lias not we believe, bren yet published. But the wisdom of the recommendation from the society spems to us so doubtful that we are inclined to hope th it the permission asked for will not be granted. This matter is of more importance than perhaps may at first sight appear. For year by year cultivation and settlement are being- -more widely expended, and this country unfortunately is one where nature has been lavish in her spread of insect life but parsimonious in bestowing on us birds which might diminish its ravages. Consequently every farmer is interested in assisting to increase the numbers of our birds, and so help to decrease the swarms of insects which prey on his crops. But nTthefirst place ltPunTol'funately happens that the ordinary farmer does not know, or carelessly refuses to consider, where his best interest 1 6 . The same man who will cry out loudest^\nd perhaps bestow the deepest curses on his " luck," when he sees his oats or wheat swarming with caterpillars, will not unfrequently bo the first, if he has the chance, to seize his gut and slaughter recklessly any bird he comes across. One of our objections to the proposal of the Acclimatisation Society is founded on the belief that in far too many, cases the permission to shoot sparrows will l>e made' we opportunity to shoot also skylarks and other undoubtedly useful birds, perhaps too, pheasants ,and partridges.. A " true sportsman," not to sa^ my senBible man, might make some distinction in the game he attempts to procure. But we are by no means confident that any such distinction would be drawn by the young men and boys whom' the permission tago sparrow shooting aouM Jet loose all over the oountry. Our main objeotion, however, is iliat ife is "By n'» means & certain proposition that these sparrows Are

aware fchat the popular superstition has it that these prolific little twitterers are amongst the farmer's worst foes. But whilst there are many very strong assertions made on this side of question, we find just as many equally strong on the diner. For instance, only a tew days ago we were told that on a certain farm a crop of we forget bow many »2ies of oats had been utterly and entirely destroyed by an invasion of sparrows, so that hardly a bushel was left in the tield. This was startling ; but a day or two afterwards we were informed that a gentleman living near Chrhtchuroh had taken the trouble to kill one hundred and fifty sparrows, and found in them no grain at all but an immense number of grub* and insects ; and this in a garden full ot fruit and adjoining a large field of oats. Our informants in both cases were, we thought, equally trustworthy. In the face of such contradictions as these it does seem to us a hasty proceeding on the part ot the Acclimatisation Society to. propose the ruthless destruction of these' birds. We cannot help remembjii ig, too, that the results of wholesale sparrowslaughter have not been encouraging in Europe* We believe that the sparrow clubs, formerly so numerous, are now not looked upon with much favour in .England, and th*t in France the consequence of d stroyiug all the small birds was that the peo'pla had to re-iuiport them from other paces. We cannot of course, say that the sparrow is as useful as some I other birds. Trie starling, the skylark, and many others are perhaps far better. Of the finches, the chaffinch esiiecwlly, we are not so certain ; indeed perhaps this last bird might fairly bear a large share of the guilt attached to ihe sparrow. But of on& thing we are sure, and that is up to the present time no one has m.idd a systematic attempt to really find out whether we ought lo owe a debt of gratis tude to the sparrows or to exterminate them without mercy, if we can. — P»ess,