THE SPARROWHAWK.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Your correspondent Mr. Acheson is very unreasonable in his criticism of " Loosestrife's" remarks. on the sparrow- hawk. According to Mr. Acheson, every sparrowhawk kills at least 365 birds a year. Now this bird is not the only bird that kills other birds; and what of the millions of cats, most of. which kill all they can? How, then, is it that there is a bird left ? The sparrowhawk has become one of our rare birds, and he has his uses, since not only sparrows, blackbirds, and pigeons, but mice and injurious insects, are his food. I venture to say Mr. Acheson's figures are wholly fallacious, for I have noticed that birds are very plentiful where the sparrowhawk is less rare, just as I have observed that big game abounds where the carnivorous animals are numerous. We may assume the Creator knew what He was doing! In these days first one creature, then another is condemned. Now it is the squirrel which is to be wiped out under the pro- visions of the Forestry Bill, and not a word of protest raised, as far as I have seen, except by some few Peers in Committee, whose careful observation went to show that the squirrel is a much-maligned animal! These witnesses were quickly over- ruled; but why, one asks, should any creature be condemned by a few men in this way ? Should not the opinion of experts in every country have been obtained ? Only yesterday a man who has spent much of his life in the woods of England told me he (lid not think the squirrel did damage worth considera-
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