iS 
bhe  of  those  that  had  secured  its  liberty,  calling  regularly  to  the 
outside  crow  which  always  kept  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cage. 
4.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  record  that  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
Ceylon  crows,  some  dozen  or  more  of  the  ordinary  carrion  crow 
of  this  country  appeared  on  the  scenes,  and  seemed  to  regard  the 
new  comers  with  considerable  interest,  but  never  made  any  at- 
tempt to  molest  them  in  any  way.  Indeed  as  far  as  I can  see  the 
Ceylon  crows  have  nothing  to  fear  from  any  natural  enemies  in 
this  country.  I have  seen  kites  and  eagles  flying  round  since  they 
have  been  here,  but  on  no  occasion  have  they  attacked  the  crows. 
I have  a large  number  of  young  ducks  and  chickens  where  the 
crows  have  been  let  loose,  but  they  have  not  been  disturbed  by 
their  new  neighbours  at  all,  and  I do  not  think  that  the  crows  will 
do  any  mischief  of  this  sort,  as  some  people  anticipate.  I may 
mention  however,  that  the  young  ducks  proved  too  much  of  a 
temptation  to  the  big  carrion  crows,  which  killed  and  carried  off 
several  every  day,  until  I was  obliged  at  last  to  shoot  two  of  them. 
They  were  only  wounded,  and  I was  able  to  keep  them  in  one  of 
the  empty  cages  for  some  days,  when  one  of  them,  having  evi- 
dently sustained  internal  injuries,  died.  The  other,  however,  is 
still  alive  and  it  has  been  very  interesting  having  the  two  species 
side  by  side  for  comparison.  The  carrion  crow  readily  eats  the 
largest  coconut  beetles  and  their  larvae,  his  powerful  bill  enabling 
him  to  split  up  and  devour  the  former  with  the  greatest  ease.  The 
Ceylon  crows  will  also  eat  the  larvae  greedily,  but  cannot  manage 
the  beetle  unless  it  is  killed  and  broken  up  for  them  first. 
General. — I venture  to  think  that  the  experiment  as  far  as  it  has 
gone  has  been  an  unqualified  success.  It  has  been  demonstrated 
that  the  crows  will  thrive  in  captivity,  that  they  can  stand  without 
any  serious  ill  effects  the  long  journey  over  to  this  country,  that 
when  released  they  do  not  at  once  fly  away,  but  show  every  sign 
of  an  intention  to  adapt  themselves  to  their  altered  circumstances, 
and  that,  when  given  to  them,  they  readily  eat  the  caterpillars,  the 
destruction  of  which  was  the  reason  for  their  importation.  It  now 
remains  to  be  seen  if  they  will  breed,  and  should  they  do  so,  I do 
not  see  what  more  can  be  expected  from  them,  for,  as  I have  said, 
it  is  scarcely  likely,  while  so  few  in  numbers,  that  they  will  hunt 
the  coffee  for  caterpillars,  when  there  is  so  much  food  of  other  sorts 
available.  The  remedy  for  this  is  to  import  several  thousands  of 
the  birds,  and  1 shall  sincerely  hope  to  see  this  done. 
I have,  &c., 
E.  V.  CAREY, 
Chairman j U.  P.  A.,  F.  M.  S. 
COAGULATION  OF  RUBBER. 
Singapore,  28th  January,  /poj. 
The  Editor, 
The  Agricultural  Bulletin  of  the  Straits 
AND  Federated  Malay  States. 
Dear  Sir, — You  are  aware  that  1 have  filed  the  specification  of 
