114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



to rear the young family must be immense. Each female lays 

 four or five eggs at a litter, and often rears two broods in a 

 season. If we may judge by the appetite of the young robin 

 that I just noticed, and there is no reason to say we cannot, the 

 labors of the blackbird in rearing his young family are worthy of 

 his receiving better treatment than he too often does at the 

 hands of the farmers. 



BufFon's reminiscence of the introduction of the srrackle into 

 the Isle of Bourbon, although familiar to many present, is still 

 interesting, as it bears almost directly upon the present subject. 

 The grackle is nearly allied to our blackbirds. On this island, 

 " where the grackle was unknown, the soil was overrun with 

 locusts, which had been accidentally introduced from the Island 

 of Madagascar, the eggs having been imported in the soil with 

 which some plants were brought from that island. The gov- 

 ernor-general and the intendant deliberated seriously on the 

 means of extirpating these noxious insects, and for this purpose 

 caused several pairs of the Indian grackle to be introduced into 

 the island. This plan promised to succeed ; but, unfortunately, 

 some of the colonists seeing the birds eagerly thrust their bills 

 into the earth of the newly-sown fields imagined they were in 

 quest of grain, and reported that the birds, instead of proving 

 beneficial, would be highly detrimental to the country. On the 

 part of the 6wt/5, it was argued that they raked in the newly 

 ploughed grounds, not for the sake of the grain, but for the 

 sake of the insects, and were, therefore, beneficial. They were, 

 however, proscribed by the council, and in the space of two 

 hours after the sentence was pronounced against them not a 

 grackle was found on the island. This prompt execution was 

 followed by a speedy repentance ; the locusts gained the ascen- 

 dency, and the people, who only viewed the present, regretted 

 the loss of the grackles. In a few years afterwards a few pairs 

 .were again introduced. Their preservation and breeding were 

 made a state affair ; the laws held out protection to them, and 

 the physicians, on their part, declared their flesh to be unwhol- 

 some. The grackles accordingly multiplied, and the locusts 

 were destroyed." 



Another interesting family of birds is the corvidao, in which 

 are included our crows, jays, &c. In many sections these 

 birds are protected, while in more others they are very unpop- 



