not, iu my opinion, be a wise procedure for the farmer 

 to place all blackbirds under ban, because of the mis- 

 deeds of a few individuals which may have developed 

 a taste for forbidden food. Although blackbirds, un- 

 doubtedly, destro3' the homes of a good many small 

 wild birds, the fact seems pretty well established that 

 these birds, during the summer season, are much more 

 beneficial than harmful to the fanner. Nine times out 

 of ten an investigation will show that when crows and 

 blackbirds visit the corn fields, when the young corn 

 blades are an inch or two above the ground, that they 

 are there, not to destroy the corn, as many suppose, 

 but to feed on the cut-worms which are often so abun- 

 dant as to ruin entire fields and render a replanting 

 necessary. 



THE JAYS. 



The "Scrub'' or Florida Jay (Apelocoma floridana) is 

 greatly detested in some parts of Florida where they 

 are plentiful. The enniit}' to these birds, known 

 locally as "Scrub Jays" because they are found in 

 a thick under-growth, arises from the fact that they 

 destroy the eggs of chickens. They come about build- 

 ings and destroy the eggs, and they will also, I am 

 inloinied, sometimes attack and kill young fowls as 

 well as different species of wild birds which they can 

 master. 



In attacking the young of chickens or other fowls, 

 the jays, it is asserted, always strike at the head, and 

 with a few vigorous strokes of their bills, soon per- 

 forate the tender coverings of the brain. Usually when 

 not disturbed the jay will eat the brain matter, pick 

 out the eyes, and leave the rest of the fowl undis 

 tnrbed. 



The habit of destroying eggs and poultry must De 



