142 



THE OOLOGIST. 



quote from his report (Agr. Dep. Report 

 1888. Pp. 498—534) the following 



"Summary of Evidence From All 

 Scourges. 

 It appears, therefore, from a careful 

 consideration of all testimony, publish- 

 ed and un-published, that — 



I. Crows seriously damage the corn 

 crop, and injure other grain crops usu- 

 ally to a less extent. 



II. They damage other farm crops 

 to some extent, frequently doing much 

 mischief. 



III. They are very destructive to the 

 eggs and young of domestic fowls. 



IV. They do incalculable damage to 

 the eggs and young of native birds. 



V. They do much harm by the dis- 

 tribution of seeds poison ivy, poison su- 

 mach, and perhaps other noxious plants. 



VI. They do much harm by the de- 

 struction of beneficial insects. 



On the other hand — ■ 



VII. They do much good by the de- 

 struction of injurious insects. 



VIII. They are largely beneficial 

 through their destruction of mice and 

 other rodents. 



IX. They are valuable occasionally 

 as scavengers. 



The careful examination of large 

 numbers of stomachs, and the critical 

 study of the insect food of the Crow 

 may change materially the present as- 

 pect of the question; but so far as the 

 facts at present known enable a judge- 

 ment to be formed, the harm which Crows 

 do appears to far outweigh the good.'" 



Personal experience confirms the con- 

 clusions arrived at by Mr. Barrows. 



COLEOPTERIST. 



W. D. R. 



Fredericksburg, Va. 



Spring Openers- 



It is believed by many that birds and 

 animals are good weather prophets, 

 and that their migrations are to an ex- 

 tent governed by the coldness of the 



winter which is to follow, know when 

 winter is over. To a certain extent^ 

 they do know, I think, when it is likely 

 to i*ain, but that they know whether a. 

 winter will be severe or not is a mis- 

 take, in my mind, and know no more 

 about an approaching cold wave than I, 

 until it has become evident. I have 

 seen splendid examples of their igno- 

 rance this Spring, and watched with 

 much interest their movem ents North- 

 ward, and then returning South, in the 

 face of a cold wave. 



Robins and Bluebirds have been mi- 

 grating Northward since the first of 

 Feb., and I've seen thousands of Robins, 

 pass over in one day, only to be driven 

 back the next. They go in strings and 

 droves like Blackbirds, but return dash- 

 ing into the trees suddenly. Bluebirds 

 fly in smaller droves, sometimes a hun- 

 dred in a flock. The deep ravines and' 

 sunny hillsides furnish splendid retreats, 

 for them during such cold spells, and'; 

 here they remain for perhaps a week at 

 a time, feeding on Dogwood and Black 

 Gum berries. 



Robins rarely sing with us here, yet 

 on a bright clear morning, favorable for 

 migration, these hillsides and hollows, 

 fairly ring with their metalic clatter 

 and the Bluebirds fall in line with a. 

 "■forward forward" for the North. 



Even Nature herself seemed to have- 

 been canght unawares this last cold 

 snap, and not only wei*e birds driven 

 back by thousands, but some were nest- 

 ing, and fruit which was blooming, and 

 the more tender plants were killed,. 

 The earlier part of March was warm 

 and sunny, and it seemed as if spring 

 was here, It turned cold on the 14th 

 and by the 16th there was eight inches, 

 of snow and thermometer 12 ° above 

 zero, and remaining so for nearly a 

 week. I went to the Bluebirds' nest, 

 in the old stump down by the spring, 

 and found it contained four eggs, 

 though Mrs. B. was not to be seen. 

 When it moderated a little, a few days, 

 later I returned to the nest and to my 



