LAND BIRDS. 427 



of the poison ivy from the stomach of a single Crow, and among hundreds 

 of stomachs collected in cold weather not 5 percent failed to contain some 

 of these seeds. In the gizzard of the Crow the nutritious pulp of these 

 berries is quickly separated from the hard bony seeds, and the latter, mixed 

 with large quantities of the sand and gravel used for grinding, are choked 

 up by the Crow in compact masses of twenty to fifty seeds at a time. These 

 seeds are not injured in the least by this process and the greater part of them 

 are distributed by the Crow under conditions which favor their germination 

 and growth. It is difficult to estimate the amount of harm thus done, 

 but it is safe to say that the misery thus caused is enormous and our estimate 

 of it is not lessened l^y the fact that numerous other Inrds assist in the 

 harmful work. 



The consumption of ripened grain (including corn) perhaps is not very 

 great, although we have scores of complaints relating to the destruc- 

 tion of green corn, corn "in the milk," and corn "in roasting ear" by 

 Crows. In such cases the amount of damage seems to depend largely 

 upon the location of the field, and it is usually noted that the rows which 

 are nearest the woods, or which are least exposed to human observation, 

 are the ones which suffer most. It is not uncommon to find more than 50 

 percent of the ears in ten or more of the outermost rows seriously damaged 

 if not entirely destroyed. At this time the Crows are in flocks of con- 

 siderable size formed by the union of three to thirty family groups and the 

 marauding parties often consist of thirty to eighty individuals. 



But by far the most serious injury which the Crow does the farmer is 

 in pulling up the corn which has just come through the ground. This 

 habit is so well known and the complaints are so universal that it seems 

 idle to spend time in discussing the fact. There are those who claim that 

 the mischief is done by chipmunks, gophers, or even red squirrels, and it 

 is well known that the Crow-blackbird or Bronzed Grackle does a certain 

 amount of damage in the same way. But beyond question the larger part 

 of this work is done by the Crow alone. A few seemingly intelligent people 

 still claim that in pulling corn in this way the Crow is carefully searching 

 for the wire-worm, the cut-worm or the white grub found at the root. 

 This claim has been absolutely disproved by repeated observations and 

 by examinations of stomachs of Crows which had been feeding on corn 

 pulled in this way. In no case have any of the insects above named been 

 found in the same stomach with sprouted corn, and it may be added 

 that these three groups of insects are rarely found in Crow's stomachs at 

 all. The cutworm being distasteful to the Crow is taken only as a last 

 resort. 



The consideration of the foregoing facts should convince any candid 

 mind that in the long run the Crow must prove far more injurious than 

 beneficial to the agriculturist. The question now naturally arises, what 

 can be done to prevent the harm? Two methods of procedure suggest them- 

 selves: (1) The more or less complete destruction of Crows. (2) The more 

 or less complete protection from Crows of the crops which he injures. 



Destruction of the Crow is hardly practicable. The conditions are 

 such that in spite of persecution of all kinds the Crow is sure to survive at 

 least in small numljers. The use of poison, the gun, and bounties have 

 effected a temporary lessening of numbers in limited areas, but all these 

 factors com])ined are insufficient to secure extermination. Nor is this 

 altogether to be regretted. In spite of his many l)ad qualities the Crow 

 has an attractive pci'sonality and his presence in small numbers adds 



