No. 4.] THE CROW IX MASSACHUSETTS. 295 



are prohil)ited hy law, and the destruction of the crow or 

 its exile from the field are not usually to be desired. Scare- 

 crows of various kinds may be used if necessary when corn 

 is in the milk, to keep crows from the fields. 



Is THE Crow a Friend? 



The question, Is the crow a friend or an enemy to the 

 Massachusetts farmer? can only be answered by an exact 

 knowledge of what constitutes its food at all hours of the 

 day, at all seasons of the year and under changing con- 

 ditions. This must be supplemented by an exact knowl- 

 edge of the economic value of the plants and animals 

 on which it feeds. Therefore, to answer this question by 

 a scientific investigation with even approximate accuracy 

 would be the work of years. The crow, unlike many other 

 birds, is almost omnivorous, feeding on anything, living or 

 dead, which it can utilize as food. A species which can 

 adapt itself to all kinds of food is likely to remain a stable 

 factor in any fauna, as it is far better able to maintain its 

 normal numbers without great fluctuations than a bird which 

 is by nature obliged to depend on a more limited diet. The 

 omnivorous species, always finding sustenance, either vege- 

 table or animal, are enabled to maintain their numbers, 

 forming a standing army always at hand to attack any great 

 outl)reak of injurious mammals, reptiles or insects, or even 

 to clear the land of carrion. 



If our experiments are conclusive, young crows require 

 more than half their own weight of mixed animal and vege- 

 table food daily. If in computing the amount of food eaten 

 by adult crows we assume that they can live on half this 

 amount, or only five ounces of food per day, it is plain 

 that one thousand ])irds would consume three hundred and 

 twelve pounds daily. If their food on any one day consisted 

 almost entirely of field mice, injurious insects, wild berries 

 and seeds, they would ])e, on that day, very beneficial to 

 the farmer. If, on the other hand, their food on a certain 

 day consisted of toads, the young or eggs of poultry and 

 wild birds, corn or other grains and cultivated fruit, they 

 would be, on that day, very injurious to the farmer. The 

 question as to whether the crow is beneficial or injurious 



