102 The Ottawa Naturalist. | September 



your crows ; tell the other boys to come to my house and get ten 

 cents each for theirs ; or let each take his crow, just as he 

 pleases." This was, I thought, fair dealing, and, as I had bought 

 out two shares, I felt sure of two pets, which was really all I 

 needed. 



When I arrived home with my birds, which I carried in 

 my handkerchief, my wife asked me : " What in the world 

 are you going to do with five crows ? " " Oh," I said, " they do 

 not all belong to me, there are some boys who have an interest in 

 them, and I guess will soon be after them." And I was not mis- 

 taken, for when it became known to the Crows' Nest Company 

 that I had taken the crows, the stockholders were soon after me. 

 For several days after I got the crows, when my wife saw boys 

 coming to the house, she would say : "I guess it's some more of 

 your crow boys." 



One boy took his crow, the others I paid off as they came 

 along, ten or fifteen cents, just as I could make the bargain. I 

 did not keep a Crow debit and credit account, so do not remem- 

 ber how many shares I bought out ; but, when congratulating 

 myself that I held all the stock, a boy came along ; he proved to 

 be one of the original shareholders that I had bought out. He said 

 his brother '' owned one of the crows," and, as he was sick in bed 

 and unable to come, he had sent him (the speaker) as his repre- 

 sentative to demand ten cents, which I duly handed over ; though 

 J never inquired whether that ten cents ever reached the sick boy. 

 Crows are omnivorous, are great feeders and easy to raise. 

 I took a box about ten inches square and four inches deep ; in 

 this I made a nest of soft hay, in which the birds, when young, 

 and before they were able to perch, would sit ; and, their droppings 

 being ejected outside, like from their natural nest, they were kept 

 clean and healthy. I fed them largely on milk and bread, vvith 

 (when the birds were quite young) some hard-boiled eggs mixed 

 in it, raw beef and an occasional worm. Almost anything I would 

 eat myself (no allusion to the worm diet intended), did not come 

 amiss to them, and the quantity of food they consumed, when 

 young and growing, would surprise anyone who never raised 

 young crows. The secret is, Feed little and often. 



After settling with all the bo\s who had an interest in my 



