Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 253 



digestion is rapid — and consequently they are always in pursuit of 

 something more to satisfy an urgent appetite. They are also omnive- 

 rous, and in that respect resemble swine. It is their prescribed office 

 to limit the increase of certain classes of small birds, rats, mice, 

 gophers, moles, many reptiles, insects, worms, slugs, etc., which, if 

 unmolested, would make such havoc with the vegetable kingdom 

 as to peril the resources of others wholly dependent on grasses and 

 plants for their daily sustenance. This, of course, is a philosophical 

 explanation of their widespread diffusion over the earth. So essen- 

 tial is their service to the common good, in concurrence with other 

 workers in the same line of activity in past times, the crow's gene- 

 alogy antedates the existence of man. Mr. Swinton says the crow 

 unites in itself a greater number of properties than are to be found 

 individually in any other genus of birds, as if, in fact, it had taken 

 from all other orders a portion of their peculiar qualities for the 

 pupose of exhibiting in what manner they could be combined. From 

 the rapacious this type of types takes the power of soaring in the 

 air and seizing prey on the wing, as do the hawks ; while the habit 

 of devouring putrid substances and picking out the eyes of animals 

 is derived from vultures. They possess the rare faculty of discover- 

 ing prey of which they are fond, even when quite deep in the 

 ground. In cunning, and making calculations which involve contin- 

 gencies of safety to themselves, they are marvelous, especially in 

 their ability to counterfeit the human voice. No people are so pro- 

 verbially distinguished for their tender regard for birds as the Arabs, 

 with one single exception ; orthodox Mohammedans hate crows with 

 an intensity that is actually barbarous. Tradition reports that when 

 Mohammed was fleeing from persecution in Medina, he concealed 

 himself temporarily in a cave. As he was entering, a crow perched at 

 an elevation, keeping ward while its companions were foraging; saw 

 the prophet scudding for life, and as his pursuers came running past 

 the opening, screamed " Ghar-ghar ! " a word for cave in the ornitho- 

 logical language. Not comprehending its meaning, however, they 

 kept on their way without suspecting the intentions of the noisy 

 watchman to put them in possession of the object of their vengeance. 

 "When the alarmed messenger of the new faith came safely out 

 from the hiding-place, such was his exasperation at the conduct 

 of the crow, he doomed all crows ever after to be black, and to 

 •be incapable of sounding more than one note, and that should bo 

 ghaw ! Whenever an Arab kills one the body is torn open quickly 

 and the gall secured, which is considered a valuable remedy for 



