NATURAL HISTORY. 



When a bird or a wild animal is killed, that is the end of it. If ohotographed, it may still live 

 and its educational and scientific value is multiplied indefinitely. 



THIN OUT THE CROWS. 



I have read with deep interest Anson 

 Howard's notes on the crow, which exactly 

 coincide with my observations. For more 

 than 30 years I have watched the crow, 

 trying to learn whether he had any good 

 traits worthy of mention, but aside from 

 the few grasshoppers and grubs he eats he 

 is a robber and a murderer of the worst 

 type. 



During the month of May, on a cold 

 morning, about 5 o'clock I saw a flock of 

 birds, consisting of robins, blue jays, black 

 birds and catbirds, in pursuit of a crow 

 among some spruce trees. I got my gun 

 but before I reached the place the crow had 

 disappeared. It was easy to learn whose nest 

 had suffered, for the feathers on a pair of 

 black birds all stood the wrong way. I rea- 

 soned that the crow had not had time to 

 finish his robbery, but would soon return, 

 so I waited a few minutes and sure enough 

 he came and alighted on an apple tree to 

 see if the coast was clear. But he had 

 robbed his last bird's nest. When the gun 

 cracked he folded his wings forever. 



The crow nearly always makes his visits 

 for young birds and eggs early, before peo- 

 ple are up. At such times he comes close 

 to dwellings ; and poultry, eggs and young 

 chickens suffer, while the crow is protected 

 by law. He soon learns to keep away from 

 a house where a gun is kept loaded for him. 



Many years ago I was returning from a 

 fishing trip and my route led across a pas- 

 ture in which was a band of sheep. Near 

 the center of the field I found 2 lambs with 

 both eyes pecked out. The lambs were still 

 alive and were not more than a day old. 

 I shall never forget this scene and have 

 ever since deemed it a crime to get within 

 gun shot of a crow when I had a gun in 

 my hands without using it on the black 

 murderer. 



The last nest of a prairie chicken I 

 ever saw contained 14 eggs and all these 

 hatched. On the day the chicks came out 

 I saw a crow within a few feet of the old 

 bird, which was covering the little birds. 

 The mother flew at the crow, but he only 

 retreated a few steps and returned to the 

 attack. When he saw me he flew away. I 

 was busy at the time and could not go for 

 the gun. The next day no young birds 

 could be found and none of these was ever 

 seen again. I have never known of a 

 prairie chicken nesting in that vicinity since. 



Mr. Howard is right in saying the birds 

 the crows destroy would kill more insects 

 than the crow does. 



Crows have increased in this State to 

 such an extent that they outnumber the 

 grouse at least 100 to 1, and if something 

 is not soon done the prairie chicken will be 

 extinct here. These birds are protected by 

 law from, the white hunter till 1907 ; but 

 this law only helps the crow in his dastard- 

 ly work. 



Geo. O. Green, Princeton, 111. 



In referring the above to Mr. Hornaday, 

 I wrote: 



I believe the time has come to declare 

 war on the crow, not alone from what Mr. 

 Green says, but from what many others 

 have said through Recreation, during the 

 past 10 years. The crow was no doubt cre- 

 ated for seme good purpose, but it looks 

 as if he had served his time and had 

 now degenerated into an unmitigated 

 poacher. As a boy I have put in many a 

 day of hard work at planting corn where 

 crows had pulled up the first sprouts, not- 

 withstanding I had guarded the corn field 

 carefully with a shot gun during the preced- 

 ing weeks. I never cared so much for the 

 crow's depredations on the corn, because 

 it seemed a part of our farm life to hunt 

 crows and replant ; but bird life has become 

 too scarce to be further complacently sacri- 

 ficed to this black marauder. Do you not 

 agree with me? 



ANSWER. 



Beyond question, the crow deserves to be 

 destroyed whenever and wherever he be- 

 comes too numerous and too fresh. I 

 would not countenance the wholesale de- 

 struction of crows because of their depre- 

 dations in the corn fields at planting time. 

 At the same time, were I a farmer, I should 

 use a shot gun as a discourager of crows 

 so long as the corn was young enough to 

 be uprooted by them. 



When crows begin to destroy game and 

 song birds by wholesale, it is time to take 

 the warpath against the black pest and to 

 make them literally fly for their lives. Let 

 us have in all States open seasons on crows, 

 during the breeding season for other birds, 

 and during that period make every crow 

 afraid to look at a song or game bird, ex- 

 cept as a creature to be avoided. 



When some crows nested in Beaver val- 

 ley, in the Zoological Park, we received 

 them hospitably, and fed them abundantly 

 with corn and other good things ; but when 

 one of them got gay and in one morning 

 took 4 mallard ducklings from the pond, 

 we shot him and felt no remorse of con- 

 science afterward. 



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