ed is that of coating the corn with tar. This gives a bitter taste to the 

 kernel, so the Crows let it alone after pulling up one or two spears. The 

 usual way of preparing the corn is to pour hot water over it and let it soak 

 awhile; then for every bushel of. corn, put in perhaps a half pint of 

 'North Carolina tar,' as it is labeled This is better than the coal tar 

 because it does not have to be melted. The water is then poured oft and 

 plaster, ashes, or sand is mixed to keep the kernels from sticking together. 

 This hinders the growth probably a day or two, but it is a perfect pro- 

 tection from the Crows. Last Spring our tarred corn gave out and we 

 finished the last row of one piece with clean corn. After it had come up, 

 we found that the Crows had pulled every spear of this corn, while the 

 tarred corn at its side was hardly touched. The damage done to corn is 

 not confined to the first few days. When it is in the' milky state, they 

 tear the husks and eat off the kernels at the tips of the ears. The harm 

 done in this way is not great ; the Purple Crackles, Red-winged Black- 

 birds and English Sparrows doing vastly more damage than the Crows. 

 On the other hand, the Crows undoubtedly eat injurious insects, mice, 

 moles, snakes, etc. April 15, 1893, I saw a Crow kill a grass-snake. It 

 would have eaten the snake had not some boys frightened it away. Dur- 

 ing Spring-plowing the Crows follow in the furrow to get the grubs that 

 are turned up. Crows are much less abundant here to-day than ten years 

 ago, and I am told that thirtv years ago there were twenty where now 

 there is one. " 



Frederick M. Dille, Denver, Colo. — " The American Crow breeds in con- 

 siderable numbers along the courses of the South Platte and its tributa- 

 ries in North-Eastern Colorado, although confined principally to the Val- 

 ley of the Platte. I have found it breeding in the near vicinity of Greely, 

 but from a point about eight miles below the town and down the river I 

 used to find their nests quite abundant. In the groves of native cotton- 

 woods, which are to be found scattered along the streams, the nests would 

 be located ; but a sufficient number could rarely be found in the same 

 grove to justify one in saying that it colonizes to any extent. On an 

 island, however, of about two acres extent, located in the middle of the 

 stream, I found at one time five nests all containing eggs or voung. The 

 trees here were not as tall by half as those on the main shore opposite, 

 but I suppose the Crows considered it a more secure locality for their 

 nests, and I thought the same at the time, as I waded through the turbu- 

 lent stream up to my waist in the water, in order to reach the island, 



" There have been years when I have traveled not a little up and down 

 the river without finding a nest, nor could I hear of any, by inquiry, from 

 people living at lower points on the river. These periods of total absence 



