“The Finch family being able to live so well upon seed food do not have to make such long autumn journeys; for even in very cold places there are plenty of seeds to be had all through the winter.”

“Do you mean berries, please, uncle?” said Dodo; “because if it was very cold wouldn’t berries freeze as hard as pebbles?”

“They eat berries, but only as Weed Warriors,—­for the seeds that are in the berries,—­not for the juicy, fruity part, as the Seed Sowers do.

“The Robin, Thrush, and Catbird eat fruits and berries for the juicy, pulpy part.  They swallow this, and the seeds or pits pass out with the wastage of their bodies; this is what makes them Seed Sowers.  But when one of the Finch family eats berries, it is for the seed or pit inside the pulp.  His strong beak cracks the seed and his stomach digests its kernel.  So these birds do not sow the seeds they eat, but destroy them.  This is why I call them Weed Warriors.  A warrior is any one who goes to war, and fights against enemies; we have enemies among plants, and these birds fight for us against them.  There are hundreds of different kinds of plants, whose flowers have no beauty, and for which we have not as yet found any use; so we call them weeds.  All such seeds would be blown about, take root, and sprout everywhere, thus filling the place of useful plants, if they were not held in check by these seed-eating birds.”

“Isn’t it wise the ways things are fixed?” said Rap.  “Some birds to eat the insects and sow wild fruits and berries; some birds to eat weed seeds and prevent them from being sown.  I think some people would do better if they didn’t think themselves so smart and mix things all up!”

“You are right, my boy!  We should not interfere with Heart of Nature by foolishly trying to aid him unless we are perfectly sure that he wishes and needs our help.

“There is one member of this Finch family, the European Sparrow, that we know by the name of English Sparrow.  In his native country he eats both insects and seeds, and also does some good by eating certain tree-worms.  A number of years ago the trees in our cities were being eaten by canker-worms, and some one said—­’Let us bring over some of these Sparrows to live in the cities and eat the canker-worms.’  This person meant well, but he did not know enough about what he was doing.

“The birds were brought, and for a while they ate the worms and stayed near cities.  But soon the change in climate also changed their liking for insects, and they became almost wholly seed and vegetable eaters, devouring the young buds on vines and trees, grass-seed, oats, rye, wheat, and other grains.

“Worse than this, they increased very fast and spread everywhere, quarrelling with and driving out the good citizens, who belong to the regular Birdland guilds, taking their homes and making themselves nuisances.  The Wise Men protested against bringing these Sparrows, but no one heeded their warning until it was too late.  Now it is decided that these Sparrows are bad Citizens and criminals; so they are condemned by every one.  All this trouble came because one man, as Rap says, ‘thought he was so smart and mixed things up.’”