102 A GREEN MOUNTAIN CORN-FIELD. 



stance, for from a pole in the middle of the 

 inclosure a dead crow was dangling in the 

 breeze. This was a more business-like sig- 

 nal than the other ; even a cockney could 

 hardly be in doubt as to its meaning ; and 

 the farmer, when I afterwards met him, 

 assured me that it had answered its purpose 

 to perfection. The crow is nobody's fool. 

 " Live and learn " is his motto ; and he 

 does both, but especially the former, in a 

 way to excite the admiration of all disin- 

 terested observers. In the long struggle 

 between human ingenuity and corvine sa- 

 gacity, it is doubtful which has thus far 

 obtained the upper hand. Nor have I ever 

 quite convinced myself which of the con- 

 testants has the better case. " The crow is 

 a thief," the planter declares ; " he should 

 confine himself to a wild diet, or else sow 

 his own garden." " Yes, yes," Corvus 

 makes reply ; " but if I steal your corn, 

 you first stole my land." Unlike his cousin 

 the raven, who, along with the Indian, 

 has retreated before the pale-face, the 

 crow is no ultra - conservative. Civiliza- 

 tion and modern ideas are not in the least 

 distasteful to him. He has an unfeigned 



