THE 



NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



Vol. In May. 1019 Xo. 5 



The Adventures of Jjmmie 



Elsa Guerdrum Allex 

 Ithaca, N. Y. 



Like other crows Jimmie had a humble origin, but since the day 

 when he hatched from a green egg, in a crude nest, overlooking the 

 city dimip, he has achieved distinction, fame, and satiety. Two 

 weeks he lived in his natal home, tormented by hunger, wishing 

 always that something would happen to his two little brothers so 

 that he could for once get a square meal. His parents were ven- 

 faithftil spending their days in search of food, yet Jimmie, though 

 he thought he stretched farther and yelled louder than his nest- 

 mates, never felt full. 



It was therefore a happy day for him when his future master 

 adjusted his camera in the snarled old willow to photograph the 

 nestlings and after obser\-ing them thus closely, was so captivated 

 by Jimmie's ugliness that he took him home with him for a pet 

 and a companion. 



Jimmie then lived in a box, and as long as he was fed to over- 

 flowing every ten or fifteen minutes, he was very good and quiet, 

 lying asleep on his bed of straw or feebly blinking his pale blue 

 eyes. At any sound, however, he sprang into life like a Jack-in- 

 the-box, neck stretched, cavernous mouth wide open and yelling, 

 even.- sheathed feather seeming to stand on end against the pinkish 

 background of his body. It was a problem to keep him quiet. 

 Bread and milk, in however large quantities, was not sufficient. 

 He needed some animal food, so we decided on worms. But dig- 

 ging worms to fill this bottomless pit was an all day job. It was 

 easier to pull them at night when we could catch a couple of 

 hundred of the large fat night crawlers at a time. 



These hunts had an element of real sport in them, for matching 

 one's wits against those of the earthworm is not so frivolous as it 

 sounds. The ideal night for "worming" is warm and damp, the 



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