27O REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



them up for winter use in various cracks and crannies, or frequently simply 

 places them in a fork of a tree branch, and it is in this work that it does its 

 greatest good for forest propagation. The writer has often found stray acorns, 

 chestnuts, etc., in open fields far from the parent tree, where they had probably 

 been accidentally dropped by jays when being carried to some place of concealment. 

 At such times these birds have a great deal of business on hand, and do a great 

 deal of flying about and screaming; and whether they can scream and hold a nut 

 in the beak at the same time is doubtful, so it is probable that a goodly propor- 

 tion of the nuts that are intended for storing are dropped in transit. The 

 California jay has the habit of storing acorns in the ground, and Dr. Merriam 

 informs me that the Indians of that region call the jay the oak planter, and say 

 that every oak that grows is from an acorn planted by one of these birds. 

 Whether the eastern species ever intentionally places acorns in the ground I am 

 unable to say, but it is certain that it puts many there by accident, and often 

 those that are stored are in positions where they may germinate and grow, such 

 as cracks in stumps or partially decayed logs. Moreover, many nuts are either by 

 intention or through carelessness left on the tops of fenceposts, or in forks of trees, 

 from which the wind will easily dislodge them. 



The Canada jay is the most northerly of any of the jays, extending its range 

 well up into the Arctic regions. It is a denizen of the coniferous forests, and it 

 is not known whether it ever feeds upon the seeds of these trees. If it does it prob- 

 ably aids in their distribution. 



The Common Crow {Corvus brachyrhyncos). 



As a distributor of forest seeds the crow deserves at least a passing notice. 

 During the winter season the crow feeds largely upon the more or less dried up 

 fruits of the previous summer, with many seeds of the poison ivy. The indigestible 

 portion of this food — that is, the seeds or stones — are disgorged after the available 

 nutrient part has been removed by action of the stomach. The seeds so disgorged 

 are in no way injured, but are in excellent condition to sprout and grow. In 

 many parts of the country, crows have a habit of gathering in one place to roost 

 at night, though during the day they distribute themselves over a large area of 

 country to forage. One of their roosts which was inspected by the writer was 

 estimated to be occupied by at least 250,000 crows at night, and extended over 

 several acres of forest. All through this area every square inch of ground 

 was covered by the disgorged pellets made up of seeds and gravel which were 

 rejected by the birds during the night. On this ground many bushels of seeds 



