20 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and the Crows easily obtain large quantities, either directly from the trees, 

 or from the ground. By the middle of November few acorns are left upon 

 the trees, and the fallen leaves have hidden part of those on the ground. 

 In December and January snow usually covers the ground, and the supply 

 of acorns must be obtained from places swept bare by the wind, from edges 

 of streams, and springy places where the snow does not accumulate, or from 

 the bare ground during occasional thaws. A large proportion of the Crow 

 stomachs taken in December and January were collected during snowy 

 weather, when such food must have & been extremely hard to find. In 

 February and March the melting snow again exposes the acorns, which are 

 all the more acceptable from the fact that the cornfields have been so 

 carefully gleaned already. It is remarkable that, in spite of the abundance 

 of fruit and other soft vegetable food, Crows continue to find and eat acorns 

 all through the spring and early summer. The quantity eaten is small 

 during most of this time, but some at least are found in every month 

 except August, while in July the average exceeds 3 per cent. This surely 

 indicates considerable skill and diligence in hunting out the old acorns 

 which have laid hidden so long. It is by no means impossible that Crows, 

 in times of scarcity, draw upon hoards of food hidden by themselves or by 

 other animals during seasons of plenty. As to the agency of birds in the 

 dissemination of seeds, the reporters above named remark: — " The number 

 of seeds distributed by Crows is enormous, and since it has been shown by 

 experiment that the vitality of such seeds is not impaired by the partial 

 digestion to which they are subjected, it is evident that the Crows effect 

 the distribution of many plants. Reference to the chapter on the vegetable 

 food above quoted will show that the stomach contains fruit seeds at all 

 seasons, but especially during the autumn. It is certain, therefore, that 

 southward-bound Crows deposit the seeds of many common fruits all along 

 their migration route. Some of these, as the wild cherry (Prunus), 

 flowering dogwood (Cornus), and the red cedar (Juniperus), produce valuable 

 and beautiful trees or shrubs, while others, like the poison ivy and poison 

 sumach (Rhus), are detestable weeds. In the vicinity of roosts such seeds 

 are sown by the million ; many of these survive, and add to the store of food 

 for birds, and some to the misery of mankind." 



Nesting of the Goldcrest. — As to the nesting habits of the Goldcrest 

 in this locality, to which my friend Mr. Mitchell lately drew attention 

 (Zool. 1895, p. 385), I believe that these little birds depend a great deal 

 on the character of the locality which they frequent. If it is sheltered 

 from wind, and abounds in spreading young silver firs, the Goldcrests here 

 build a very neat nest under the branch. There is such a place near my 

 house, and I can always find two or three nests there in the season ; but I 

 have always noticed that in exposed places, where the wind would be likely 

 to blow the branches about, the Goldcrests prefer to nest against an ivy- 



