163 



became alarmingly great ; and the states were obliged to offer 

 counter-rewards for the protection of Crows. The same inci- 

 dent has frequently happened in other countries. 



The protection afforded in Europe to Rooks, a species allied 

 to our common Crow, and resembling it exactly in its habits of 

 feeding, may be quoted as a lesson to Americans, who consider 

 the Crow as only a mischievous marauder. The Rook feeds 

 upon com and all kinds of grain, but he is protected, on ac- 

 count of his services as a consumer of insects in all their forms. 

 Rooks are often seen in such numbers upon newly ploughed 

 land in England, as to blacken it with their plumage. Yet the 

 laborers in the field do not molest them, though they must be 

 watched to prevent their doing mischief by destroying green 

 corn. In spite of all this, they are reckoned among the 

 farmer's friends, and are exempted from molestation. Crows 

 do the same kind of mischief, and they are also equally service- 

 able to agricultui'e ; but they are destroyed without mercy. 

 John Randolph was so well satisfied of their utility that he 

 would not allow a Crow to be shot upon his farm ; and to pre- 

 vent their depredations, he fed them liberally at such times as 

 his young corn was likely to be injui-ed by them. 



" On account of the propensity of Rooks to consume grain 

 and other seeds," Mr. Selby remarks, " they have erroneously 

 been viewed in the light of an enemy by most husbandmen, 

 and in several districts in England, attempts have formerly been 

 made, either to banish them, or to extirpate the breed. But 

 whenever this measui'e has been carried into effect, the most 

 serious injury to corn and other crops has invariably followed, 

 from the unchecked devastations of the grub and the cater- 

 pillar." 



An intelligent observer in Virginia, calling himself an aged 

 man, communicated some important information to " The 

 Southern Planter " in 18G0, respecting the services of birds. 

 He remarks that since his boyhood, there has been a rapid de- 

 crease in the number of birds, and a proportional increase of 

 insects. Among the consequences of this multiplication, he 



