52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



The crow was sought and killed very extensively in those 

 hunts, but the common singing birds, like the robin, the 

 bobolink, the blackbird, the red-winged blackbird and others, 

 were not very extensively killed. In the last twenty or 

 twenty-five years these hunts have been given up. As a 

 result, the crows have increased to a very great extent, and 

 most of the common singing birds of New England have 

 almost entirely disappeared ; and I am sure, from closely 

 observing the habits of those birds and the habits of the 

 crow, that the crow is largely responsible for their destruc- 

 tion. I regard the crow as a great enemy to the interests of 

 farmers. Do I misstate, brother farmers of Massachusetts, 

 when I say that you do notdiear one song bird now where 

 you would hear twenty or thirty, forty years ago? I am 

 sure it is so. I have seen the crow take a young robin from 

 the nest and fly away with it, while the old robins followed 

 him screeching in perfect agony. Not only does he destroy 

 the young birds, but he destroys the eggs. I want to see a 

 bounty offered for the crow, and I would have a bounty that 

 should destroy every one. I would gladly wring the neck 

 of the last crow in New England, and then the singing birds 

 will increase, and our children and grandchildren will know 

 something of the pleasure that we old men experienced in 

 our young life in the songs of the birds. 



Mr. Fitch of Hopkinton. It is well known that a large 

 number of our birds have almost disappeared within the last 

 ten or fifteen years, on account of the fashion which has pre- 

 vailed among our ladies of wearing the wings of birds on 

 their hats. I propose that, instead of spending $100,000 in 

 bounties, we spend about $5,000, and send to Paris, where 

 the fashions are set up six months or a year beforehand, and 

 have the fashion set of wearing the colored wings of the 

 sparrow and the crow. If the ladies would only adopt that 

 fashion, we should have no more trouble. 



Secretary Sessions. Before this subject is dropped, I 

 would like it very much if the doctor would give us specifi- 

 cally the names of the birds that he thinks ought not to be 

 protected, and the reason, in a word. 



Dr. Warren. The crow, from the evidence given, is a 

 bird that does not merit protection. There are certain 



