JIM’S BABIES 
You slay them all ! And wherefore ? For the gain 
Of a scant handful more or less of wheat, 
Or rye, or barley, or some other grain. 
Scratched up at random by industrious feet. 
Searching for worm or weevil after rain ! 
Longfellow. 
M r. ERNEST SETON-THOMP- 
SON says every wild creature 
comes to a tragic end,” and this seems to 
be particularly true of crows. They are the 
Ishmaels of the feathered kingdom, with 
every man’s hand against them. The law 
which protects other birds offers a bounty 
for their heads. The farmers hate them ; the 
small boy considers them legitimate prey, and 
pockets the price on their heads with the 
satisfaction of well-doing. I confess to a 
grudge against them myself for the many 
nests of song-birds they have robbed within 
my own precincts. It is disappointing to 
watch a brood day by day until the young 
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