212 Bird -Lore 



she had been eiuounlered. It might have proved otherwise with them had we 

 not fre(iuently moved her from place to ])lace, always so screening her that she 

 could he \iewed from one direction only— a i)lan equally necessary to adopt 

 in dealing with scarecrows, unless one be willing to have them contemptuously 

 ignored bv intelligent Crows, as hai)])ens so often in New England corntlelds 

 and elsewhere. 



Tims managed, our stufied cat safeguarded the bulbs through that entire 

 spring, yet banished the chipmunks no further than to neighboring stone walls, 

 along which they cyntinued to scamper freely, or to a well-curb still nearer 

 the house, whereon they loved to bask in warm sunlight. Her effect on birds 

 then nesting in or near the dooryard was different and less jileasing. For 

 whenever it became known to them that she was lurking there, Robins, Cat- 

 jjirds, Wrens, Song Sparrows, Orioles, and others asssembled, fluttering as 

 close about her as they dared, uttering cries of alarm or protest which sometimes 

 swelled into clamor so disturl)ing that we had to remove her from their sight. 



After thus accomplishing all that had been desired of her at Concord, the 

 inanimate juiss was taken to Camljridge later in the year, and there rendered 

 similar useful service by preventing certain birds from eating fruit which we 

 did not care to let them have. Numerous Starlings, especially coxeting that of 

 our Parkman's apjile tree, were kept away from it by the cat until at length one 

 of tluni found opportunity to watch the placing of her in the tree. What he 

 then saw must have been correctly interpreted and also ])romptly communicated 

 to the other members of the flock, for they soon returned to resume their 

 interrupted feast and thereafter took no ap])arent notice of the cat. All this 

 transpired within my view. It suggested that Starlings may not only observe, 

 but also reason, shrewdly. Doubtless there are many other birds no less 

 gifted with such intelligence. 



The foregoing testimon)' should convince at least some of those who read 

 it that a stuffed cat may be better worth her keej) than a living one — especially 

 in limes of food scarcity like these. If, during the continuance of her allotted 

 nine lives, such an animal may occasionalh^ have employed a dolorous voice to 

 shatter midnight cjuiet, or needle-pointed claws to transfix defenceless little 

 birds or beasts, what does it matter now? .\11 such transgression must of 

 necessity date back to a more or less remote ])ast and hence need give no present 

 concern to anvone. 



