Journal of Proceedings.
xxiii
numerous as swallows, the food of the former must be more abundant.
I think the swallows take larger insects than martins. In the part of
the country where I live, when we had plenty of martins, the midges
which bite so badly were unknown; as the martins disappeared, the
country became full of the midges. I rather think that these things
were cause and effect, for when we had hardly any martins the midges
would not let us sit in the garden on still, warm evenings from April to
October, and since the martins have so much increased there my garden
is comparatively free from these pests, while in all other gardens near
they are as bad as ever. The martins are worth all the other birds put
together, in showing life in the air for six months in the year in town,
village, and country, always to be seen about the houses when protected.
They are individually less graceful in their flight than swallows, but their
greater numbers when they have fair play, their habit of nesting and
flying in company, and generally higher, and their bright black and pure
white plumage, make them a better feature in the view. I should be
very sorry to be without either swallows or martins. To any lover of
birds, accustomed to see them in numbers, a place looks dull in summer
without martins, and their disappearance seems to me an evil of national
importance, only to be avoided by protecting them. Some people would
gladly destroy the sparrows, but fear that shooting them would banish
other birds. There is no ground for this fear. Birds have quite sense
enough to disregard noise which does not hurt them. About my house
other birds not being shot take no notice of the report of a gun, and when
a sparrow is shot near their nests the martins really seem to enjoy the
sight, and often come hovering round in a crowd where their enemy has
just fallen. Among the birds which nest in and close to my garden are
rooks, jackdaws, starlings, ring-doves, stock-doves, turtle-doves, missel-
thrushes, blackbirds, thrushes, and nightingales, besides numbers of
small birds of most of the common species. Swallows and martins are
often in dry weather put to great straits for want of mud with which to
build their nests. For the last two or three years I have supplied them
with clay, and find that the best way is as soon as the birds come to put
the clay in a heap near a pond, and once in a few days throughout the
summer to spread a very little of the clay with a spade a few yards along
the edge of the water, so as to wet it. Both species use it freely. If
much is put into the water, pigs, if they can get at it, will soon remove
the clay by wallowing in it."
[Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S., has favoured the Editor with the following
remarks:—"I have read Col. Russell's paper on 'Martins and Sparrows.'
He seems to have made out a good case against the sparrow, in his own
neighbourhood at all events. But it does not follow because he has
found on examination of the contents of stomachs that the sparrow feeds
chiefly on grain, ripe or unripe, in his district, that this is its food every-
where. The sparrow, like other creatures, adapts itself to circumstances,
and in towns, where it cannot procure grain, it lives on a great variety of
food, and destroys a great number of insects, aphides of various kinds,
and cockchafers.
" I think if I were in Col. Russell's place I should do as he has done,
but I should not go so far as to advocate a universal slaughter of
sparrows."—Ed.]
The President said they were very much indebted to Col. Russell for
this interesting paper, which was evidently the result of many years'
personal observation and experience. The author had certainly brought
a very serious list of charges against their old and lively friend, the sparrow.