372 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
times in large numbers. In one case one hundred and fifty-three seeds of poison 
ivy were found in a single stomach ; in several cases the number was more than one 
hundred, and the average in nineteen stomachs exceeded fifty. 
At a large crow-roost on the Virginia side of the Potomac, near Washington, the 
droppings of the crows are literally full of these seeds, usually accompanied by 
many seeds of the harmless (red-berried) sumachs, and a still smaller number of 
those of the flowering dogwood ( Cornusrflorida ) and the sour gum ( Nyssa ). The 
same is true of the large roost near Baltimore, Md., whence Mr. C. L. Edwards, of 
the Johns Hopkins University, sent to the department seeds of all the above species 
more than a year ago. The seeds of poison ivy and poison sumach had been found 
previously in crow stomachs collected near Washington, but for lack of a good ref¬ 
erence collection of seeds they remained unrecognized until December, 1888, when 
they were identified by the writer. 
In order to give some idea of the number of these seeds consumed by the crow it 
may be stated that a single pound of the dried excrement taken from the roost in 
the National Cemetery at Arlington, February 8, 1889, contained, by actual count, 
1,041 seeds of poison ivy, and 341 seeds of poison sumach, in addition to 3,271 seeds 
of other sumachs, 95 seeds of Virginia juniper, 10 seeds of flowering dogwood, and 
6 seeds of sour gum. The material, which covered about four square feet, was taken 
at random from above the layer of leaves, and represents the average deposit on the 
roost. As the roost covers upward of fifteen acres, some idea may be formed of the 
number of those seeds deposited there. 
It is a well-known fact that the germination of many kinds of seeds is hastened 
by their passage through the digestive organs of birds and other animals, and hence 
it was believed at once that the crow was aiding in the distribution of these poison¬ 
ous plants. In order to place the matter beyond question, however, seeds taken 
from the Arlington roost were tested in several ways, and not only was their vitality 
found to be unimpaired, but they were found to germinate more quickly than seeds 
taken from the vine. Of one hundred seeds of Bhus venenata from the roost, moist¬ 
ened and kept warm, ten sprouted within forty-eight hours, and twenty more within 
the next five days. One hundred and fifty seeds of the same kind and from the 
same source were planted in a flower pot in the greenhouse, and at the end of four¬ 
teen days one hundred and thirty of them had become vigorous seedlings from one 
to two inches high, and several more were breaking the ground. Similar results 
were obtained with seeds of Bhus toxicodendron from the roost, while seeds taken 
from the vine had not sprouted at the end of fourteen days. Thus it becomes certain 
that these seeds are improved rather than impaired by their passage through the 
digestive organs of the crow, and this bird therefore is doing incalculable harm by 
sowing broadcast the seeds of a poisonous vine and a more poisonous shrub, both of 
which unfortunately are far too abundant already. 
The Crow as a Destroyer op the Eggs and Young of Poultry and Wild 
Birds. 
More than three hundred and fifty of our correspondents have contributed notes 
relating to the crow as a robber of the nests of domesticated fowls and wild birds. 
About seventy of these state simply that “no damage of this kind has been ob¬ 
served,” but with this exception the evidence is almost wholly unfavorable to the 
crow. Two hundred and seventy-eight observers state distinctly that they know of 
more or less mischief of this kind committed by crows. One hundred and forty- 
seven have personal knowledge of its carrying off young chickens, and one hun¬ 
dred and seventy-four report damage to domesticated fowls. There are twenty-five 
complaints of injury to the eggs and young of turkeys, and about a dozen instances 
of similar damage to ducks and geese. 
Rather more than ten per cent, of the reports on domesticated fowls state that the 
damage is slight or occasional, but on the other hand upward of fifty observers re¬ 
port frequent and serious depredations, many of them stating that the crows do 
much more damage than hawks. It is significant that out of more than three hun- 
