122 RAMBLES OF 



crows, which are, during the day-time, scattered 

 over perhaps more than a hundred miles of circum- 

 ference, wing their way every afternoon, and arrive 

 shortly after sunset. Endless columns pour in from 

 various quarters, and as they arrive pitch upon their 

 accustomed perches, crowding closely together for 

 the benefit of the warmth and the shelter afforded 

 by the thick foliage of the pine. The trees are 

 literally bent by their weight, and the ground is 

 covered for many feet in depth by their dung, 

 which, by its gradual fermentation, must also tend 

 to increase the warmth of the roost. Such roosts 

 are known to be thus occupied for years, beyond the 

 memory of individuals } and I know of one or two 

 which the oldest residents in the quarter state to 

 have been known to their grandfathers, and probably 

 had been resorted to by the crows during several 

 ages previous. There is one of great age and mag- 

 nificent extent in the vicinity of Rock Creek, an 

 arm of the Patapsco. They are sufficiently nume- 

 rous on the rivers opening into the Chesapeake, and 

 are everywhere similar in their general aspect. Wil- 

 son has signalised such a roost at no great distance 

 from Bristol, Pa.; and I know by observation that 

 not less than a million of crows sleep there nightly 

 during the winter season. 



To gather crow heads from the roost, a very large 

 party was made up, proportioned to the extent of 

 surface occupied by the dormitory. Armed with 

 double-barrelled and duck guns, which threw a large 

 charge of shot, the company was divided into small 

 parties, and these took stations, selected during the 



