258 Crows 



by these insects. Crows cannot always be as easily 

 proven to be innocent as in this illustration, for some- 

 times they do considerable damage to cornfields, and 

 occasionally slight damage to oat and wheat fields. 



The cornfields may easily be protected by scare- 

 crows, by twining it, or by tarring the corn. Either 

 of these methods is fairly effectual where crows are 

 quite plentiful. 



After carefully considering the food of the crow 

 throughout its range, and comparing the evidence for 

 and against, the weight of the evidence seems to be 

 in favor of the crow. Many of the wrongdoings at- 

 tributed to crows years ago cling to them to-day, but 

 circumstances have changed, and the facts are true 

 only in part. Over seventy years ago Dr. Godman 

 wrote as follows : 



" Where food is at any time scarce, or the oppor- 

 tunity for such marauding inviting, there is scarcely 

 a young animal about the farmyard safe from the 

 attacks of the crow. Young chickens, ducks, gos- 

 lings, and even little pigs, when quite young and 

 feeble, are carried off by them. They are not less 

 eager to discover the nests of domestic fowls, and 

 will sit very quietly in sight, at a convenient distance, 

 until the hen leaves the nest, and then fly down and 

 suck the eggs at leisure. But none of their tricks 



