who ought to be well informed in such matters have made careless or inaccurate statements in this connection, that a few words may not be out of place here.
It is true, as has been shown already, that Sparrows prefer towns or cities so long as their numbers are not excessive and food is abundant there; but it is equally true that where the conditions are favorable they eventually spread over the country as well as the towns, not only going out from the city to the wheatfields in flocks, but taking up their residence at farm-houses, many miles from any large town, and remaining there throughout the year. The time which must necessarily elapse between the first appearance of Sparrows in a town and their occupation of the surrounding country will vary very much according to circumstances, and doubtless there are places in which, owing to certain peculiar conditions, such a state of affairs never will be reached, but, nevertheless, as a rule, such a result is only a matter of time.
Mr. F.W. Giles, who first introduced the Sparrows in Kansas, in 1874, writes from Topeka, under date of October 6, 1886:
They do not go out into the country at all, but have gono to various towns, distant 20 to 100 miles from Topeka.
And Mr. Byron J. Peckham wrote from Westerly, R. I., early in 1884:
They do not extend their visits to farms and their produce, but prefer the cities and villages.
Doubtless these statements are the results of actual observation in the localities named ; but the observations do not cover a sufficiently long period to justify any general conclusions of the same kind, or even to make it probable that the Sparrows will continue to be so restricted in those cities. For it is a matter of every day observation, in a multitude of localities, that the Sparrows sooner or later overflow the cities and towns, and spread over the surrounding country. From personal observation in the neighborhood of New York, Washington, and other cities, as well as in the country about small towns, we are able to state that Sparrows are abundant along the country roads for several miles beyond the suburbs. That the same thing is true in various parts of the country appears from the following testimonials.
Mr. H. J. Gaylord, of Binghamton, N. Y., writes:
He is no longer a city resident, but is finding his way to the small villages, and already is at the farmer's houses eight and nine miles in the country. He builds not only in crevices and holes he finds around buildings, but in evergreen trees and running vines, on trellises; and he adapts himself to whatever conditions he finds.
Mr. Witmer Stone, of Germantown, Pa., writes:
The Sparrow is now found throughout the villages, and about all the farm-houses in Chester and Lancaster Counties. It appeared in the villages of Lancaster County some years before it was common in Chester County, but it has now been common at the farm-houses in the central parts of the latter county for three or four years. I find it has also made its appearance at all the villages and farm-houses situated along the Susequehanna River in Lancaster and York Counties, but as yet it is not abundant there. (November 9, 1886.)
