288 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



But these birds have years ago sought fresh fields and 

 pastures new. 



Crows, as all the world knows, are cunning birds, and 

 tliey are excellent judges of watermelons. Of late, they 

 •watch the patches very carefully, as they have sometimes 

 been outwitted and captured ; but when the coast is 

 clear and they have the field to themselves, how system- 

 atically they work ! Their part of the melon is the 

 seeds, and they consider the flavor of them to be in pro- 

 portion to the thrifty and plump condition of the fruit. 

 They know, too, when the melon is ripe ; for then the 

 seeds are full-grown, oily, and delicious. The farmer 

 boasts of the "thirty-pounders" and larger ones even, 

 of wliich he has so many. He slaps his trousers pocket 

 and hears the jingling of the dollars he is to g-et. Has 

 Jie not rags, tin-pans, and a scarecrow in the patch ? 

 He can rest easy ; his melons are safe ; Monday, they 

 will be ready to pick. But Saturday is more convenient 

 to the crow, and, with sentinels posted, in a stray bird 

 or two enter at a time, and plug these noble melons for 

 their seeds. The little ones are all ignored ; the green 

 ones passed by ; the melons ripe on Monday are the 

 crow's favorites, and on Saturday he gathers his portion. 

 Ask no favor of the farmer on Monday morning. 



As a matter of fact, the seeds of a small melon are 

 as good as those of fruit ten times the weight, and are 

 more easily reached by the crows ; yet they always, I be- 

 lieve, destroy the largest melons. I have observed this 

 very frequently, and, as a loser by their depredations, 

 speak from unpleasant experience. Still, I am a friend 

 to the crow. 



