CEOW; COMMON AMERICAN CROW 155 



a robber of other birds' eggs and young, and from its 

 custom of pulling up freshly sprouted com, it loses much 

 of the sympathy of the farmers, who believe that their 

 neighborhoods would be improved by the extermina- 

 tion of Crows. In persons we exact a standard of honor 

 and usefulness. If we used the same measure in estimat- 

 ing the standing of the Crow in its community it would 

 fall below the one hundred per cent mark. However, lest 

 we do the bird an injustice, let us not use our own virtues 

 for the basis of a Crow's standard. We must not let 

 our young corn, young chickens, birds ' eggs and economy 

 make us narrow and exacting. 



No farming community would be complete without 

 its Crows. What farmer's inventory at the end of the 

 season would be full without listing a few of these big 

 black rascals among his livestock. We may not have 

 much friendly feeling for the Crow, but we cannot re- 

 frain from admiring its audacity and persistence in its 

 endeavors to be our neighbor and our guest. On the cold- 

 est winter day the Crow remains with us to give good 

 cheer by its presence, as it wends its way through the 

 cold air to nowhere in particular and every place in 

 general. 



The incomparable tribute of Bishop Quayle to the 

 Crow will ever remain a <jlassic: 



' ' The Crow — nothing would induce me to part from 

 him. Frankly, I love him, though to the best of my be- 

 lief he does not return my affection. I love him and 

 am glad I have woods where he nests in summer and 

 where he spends his nights in winter, with his dusky 

 wings closed against his dusky sides and his sagacious 

 eyes asleep. He may do harm, but I doubt it; he does 

 more good than harm .... for wherever he may have 



been by daylight, home he comes by twilight If 



everybody knew enough to come home at night, wher- 

 ever they may have been by day, the world would have 

 more laughter and sweeter mirth and more heaven be- 

 fore heaven were journeyed to.'* 



