198 
crow, take him from the nest as soon after 
hatching as you can find him. If it is the first 
of the brood hatched, all the better. How are 
you to tell that? Why, if you find one baby 
crow and four eggs in the nest, does not that 
settle the question beyond dispute? Name 
him as soon as you get home. It is a good 
plan to have a family consultation on this sub- 
ject, for a rechristening is fatal to the proper 
education of your callow charge. Always call 
him by name whenever you feed him. He will 
learn his name before he knows what feathers 
are, and respond to it whenever he hears it ut- 
tered. Feed, until half fledged, on meal and 
water—regular ‘‘chicken dough "—and if any 
‘‘chicken sicknesses” come on consult the 
“chicken doctor.” In other words, the young 
crow must be raised on about the same diet as 
a young chicken. Feed plenty and feed often. 
A crow’s nest is the best thing to keep him in 
during his infantile days. If you haven’t one 
makeasubstitulte. Ashe growsinstrength and 
is able to travel about a little he needs more vari- 
ety in his food, but be careful he does not swallow 
anything that is very salt. Dump a handful of 
gravel down his mouth occasionally, and give 
him minnows and frogs once ina while. Swal- 
lowing his first live frog seems to give a young 
crow a most agreeable new sensation. Do not 
be in any hurry about making him bathe. He 
will wash himself whenever it is necessary, and 
if taken and plunged into cold water while the 
pin feathers are full of blood, it may cause him 
to literally ‘‘ catch his death o’ cold.” As soon 
as he is well on the wing his language lessons 
should begin. Shut him up in a darkened 
room when well fed, and begin by whispering 
the word or phrase you wish him to learn. If 
he seems to be listening repeat it a little louder, 
and continue until he either grows restless or 
goes to sleep. It will be but a few minutes. 
Repeat the same lesson and nothing else every 
time you visit him or pass within hearing for a 
week or ten days, and if your crow don’t talk 
in that time he probably never will. Generally 
they will begin to practice to themselves the 
first or second day of their imprisonment, but 
once a word or phrase is learned others will 
quickly follow. If really talented, you can 
make your crow appear to answer a question. 
NATURE'S REALM. 
For instance, call his name gently and add 
what in a loud, emphatic tone. Soon, when 
his name is called, he will respond wat with 
just the same emphasis and inflection that he 
has heard you give. Then, again, if you say 
“It’s dinner time” whenever you feed him, 
some day he will walk into the house hungry 
and gravely announce, “It’s dinner time.” 
As he grows in years and knowledge your 
crow will develop a variety of thievish and 
amusing tricks too numerous to mention. He 
will cultivate the most friendly acquaintance 
with some people and show an unaccountable 
animosity toward others. He will attend you 
part way whenever you leave home, and, if 
your hours of return are regular, will probably 
meet you at the same spot and welcome you 
exuberantly. Every time he fails to do so look 
for him at once; he will either be in some ut- 
terly entrancing bit of mischiet or else dead. 
Robert Curzon. 
A DEAD BIRD. 
During the night a little bird crept into my 
office over one of the windows. When I came 
down it was wild and frightened, and flew 
against the panes violently. I kept the door 
open as long as was possible on a cold morn- 
ing, but it could not seem to find it. During 
the day it grew less frightened, and sometimes 
lighted on my desk. I sprinkled some cracker 
for it, which it ate, stopping often to look at me 
with bright eyes. Toward evening it grew so 
tame that it would eat from my hand, and let 
me caress it. I thought to keep it for a pet, 
but the next morning it was dead. AsI looked 
upon the feathered nothing before me I won- 
dered what had become of the life it was so full 
of yesterday, a force so powerful that I some- 
times feared for the window panes. Science 
tells us that nothing is ever lost ; the bird’s life 
was something, hence it must still exist some- 
where. That the life force is not tangible, 
something to be touched and examined with 
the microscope, makes it none the less endur- 
ing. Other elements of Nature, whose inde- 
structibility we do not question, are equally in- 
tangible. The life of this bird, then, still exists. 
Does it retain its individuality or has it once 
