JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



37 



mon Birds, Suggestions for the Study 

 of Their Life and Work, 10 cents. 



These works are classics and should 

 he in the hands of every student, 

 whether he be an ornithologist or not. 

 A perusal of their contents cannot fail 

 to arouse an interest in our feathered 

 friends. 



Those having no price given are 

 free. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 Biological Survey 

 Washington, D. C. 

 T. S. Palmer, Asst Chief. 

 C. Hart Merriam, Chief. 



February 7, 1902. 

 Prof. Wm. L. Powers, Gardiner Me.: 



My Dear Sir: — 



I am glad from your letter of 

 January 27 and from the last number 

 of the 'Journal' of the Maine Ornitho- 

 logical Society that you are endeavor- 

 ing to assist teachers in securing 

 publications on birds. The reports of 

 this Department may be divided into 

 two categories; those intended for 

 free distribution and those placed on 

 sale with the Superintendent of Docu- 

 ments. The publications for gratu- 

 itous distribution are Farmers' Bulle- 

 tins. Reprints from Year Books, and 

 Circulars. The regular Bulletins are 

 published in much smaller editions 

 and placed on sale, so that after the 

 quota of the Department is exhausted 

 they may still be had from the Super- 

 intendent of Documents. I enclose 

 herewith a list of the publications on 

 birds now available for distribution. 

 In remitting for publications to which 

 a price is attached, letters should be 

 addressed to the Superintendent of 

 Documents, Washington, D. C. Two 

 of our reports mentioned on page 17 

 of the January number of the 'Journal 

 viz. 'The English Sparrow in North 

 America' aud 'Food of Woodpeckers 

 are out of print. 



Very truly yours, 



T. S. PALMER, 

 Asst. Chief, Biological Survey. 



A PET CROW. 



While driving through Knox County 

 I have noticed a tame crow at a farm 

 house near Razorville. At all times of 

 year I have observed him, in both the 

 sultry days of summer and the cold 

 or windy days in winter. He has usu- 

 ally been observed on nearly every 

 three weeks' trip for the past two 

 years I have been driving there. One 

 day I called at the house to inquire 

 about him. Mrs. Lessner. the lady of 

 the house, told me her son, Geo. Less- 

 ner, got the crow three years ago when 

 he was young and about to leave the 

 nest. She states that it is very sur- 

 prising to see the display of so much 

 cunning and intelligence. The crow 

 sleeps in the barn, ana comes to a 

 perch in front of the kitchen window 

 in the morning to be fed. He will 

 hop into the house if no strangers are 

 about. He is very shy of strangers. A 

 little boy from Boston visits the 

 place every summer and calls the crow 

 his own. Although the boy stays 

 but a short time on the farm, when 

 he returns again in the summer the 

 crow seems perfectly delighted to see 

 the boy and will at once fly down and 

 perch on his shoulder or head. 'As is 

 usual the crow is very mischievious. 

 He has a great fondness for Mr. Less- 

 ner and when he goes into the woods 

 to work, the crow follows him. A 

 short time ago Mr. Lessner staid 

 rather late in the woods, and the crow 

 perched in a thick clump of spruce and 

 went to sleep. Mr. L. thought he had 

 gone home, on arrival home the crow 

 was not there, but he came in the 

 morning to his perch before the win- 

 dow to be fed. J- M. S. 



