TESTIMONY FOR THE BIRDS. 363 



misuhief. But John Eandolph was so well convinced of 

 the usefulness of crows, that he would not allow one to 

 be shot upon his farm. To prevent their depredations he 

 fed them liberally when his young corn was liable to be 

 injured by them. 



Mr. E. S. Samuels, while admitting the important ser- 

 vices rendered by the crow as a destroyer of insects, 

 larva, and vermin, thinks it counterbalances all its ser- 

 vices by its habit of devouring young birds while in their 

 nest, of which it destroys an immense number. His 

 reasoning is logical, and I have no information that 

 would lead me to doubt his facts. It seems probable, 

 however, that the crow would find its time more profita- 

 'bly spent in exploring the fields for grubs and worms than 

 in hunting for birds'-nests. 



Nuttall, after describing the mischief done to the corn- 

 crop by immense assemblages of crow-blackbirds in the 

 Southern States and the hatred borne them by the far- 

 mers on that account, remarks that on their arrival their 

 food for a long time consists wholly of those insects 

 which are the greatest pests to the farmer. He says they 

 familiarly follow the plough, and take all the grubs and 

 other noxious vermin as they appear, scratching the loose 

 soil, that none may escape. He affirms that up to the 

 time of the harvest he has found invariably, upon dissec- 

 tion, that tlieir food consists of larva, caterpillars, moths, 

 and beetles, in such immense quantities that if they had 

 lived they would have destroyed the whole crop. 



