38 
BY THE WAYSIDE. 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT 
Every Wisconsin school branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for this department should be written on only- 
one side of the pagre, should give the name, age and ad¬ 
dress of the write'', and should be ^mailed by the first of 
the month, Illinois children sending to Mrs. Wm. M. 
Scudder, 604 E. Division st.. Chicago, Ill., and Wisconsin 
children to Mrs. Peckham, 646 Marshall st., Milwaukee, 
Wis. An honor badge will be awarded for each state 
every month, preference being given to letters about the 
bird for the month (which is always on this page), and 
to original observations. Any chil l who wins the Wis¬ 
consin badge twice ® ill receive a bird book as a priz^. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Society, costs one cent, and may be bought from Mrs. 
Scudder or Mrs. Peckham. 
Any Wisconsin School Branch may, without expense, 
have the use of the Gordon and Merrill Libraries of bird 
books, by applying to Miss Bossert, Librarian, 719 Frank¬ 
lin st., Milwaukee, Wis. 
The Crow. 
The crow is found more or less abundantly 
in all parts of Wisconsin, and is too well- 
known by all to need any description here. 
Although found in most parts of the state 
throughout the whole year, where food con¬ 
ditions permit, it is never-the-less migratory, 
and the birds with us in the winter are not 
those with us during the spring and sum¬ 
mer, but are from further north. The crow 
only migrates a short distance and the move¬ 
ment is not very noticeable except in 
spring. In Dane county this northward 
movement is very evident during the latter 
part of February, and the first week in 
March. 
During the winter the crows feed together 
in rather small flocks, posting sentrys on 
some elevation near where they are feeding 
to give instant warning on the approach of 
danger, and flying from field to field in 
search of food, or rushing into a fold of 
woods to persecute some poor owl, which one 
of their number has discovered. 
Nesting is begun during the last of March, 
and the first of April. The site chosen is 
usually in the deep woods, or in some little- 
frequented grove, but occasionally one finds 
a nest in an open pasture, or even near the 
home. In regard to the choice of a tree, 
they are not so very particular as to a pine, 
but oaks are perhaps more frequently used, 
and the nest built well towards the top, and 
generally on the main trunk. The nest it¬ 
self is a large comfortable structure, built 
of sticks, the interior the shape of a shal¬ 
low bowl, always round and symmetrical, 
and smothly lined with dead grass, root 
fibres, moss, shreds of bark, hair, feathers, 
twine, etc., and makes a very well-built, sub¬ 
stantial and comfortable home for the young 
nestling. The usual number of eggs is 
four or five, and they are hatched after an 
incubation period of about fourteen days, 
although this varies somewhat with climatic 
conditions. The young crows grow rapidly, 
and are enormous eaters, daily devouring 
more than their weight. They are well 
grown by the last of June. 
Stories concerning the sagacity and cun¬ 
ning of the crow are too many, and too well 
known by all, to repeat any of them here. 
But you realize how important an aid he 
is to the farmer, and his benefits are apt to 
be entirely overlooked. 
That he does considerable damage Is not 
to be denied, but in stealing corn he prob¬ 
ably thinks himself taking the salary which 
is his due, and an impartial trial would bear 
him out, for the damage he does is far out¬ 
weighed by the good he does in the destruc¬ 
tion of noxious insects and rodents. For 
during the year a crow kills a great many 
mice, moles, gophers, young rabbits, and 
crayfish, with a small per cent of beneficial 
animals, as frogs, lizards, etc. He also eats 
a great many injurious insects, and may 
often be seen walking soberly over a freshly 
plowed' field, picking out cut worms and 
larvae, and during the summer he consumes 
great quantities of grasshoppers, beetles, 
cut worms, weevils, tent-caterpillars, canker 
worms, etc. Its chief damage, to the corn, 
can generally be overcome by various de¬ 
vices, and his hen house depredations, which 
are seldom, are not apt to continue when 
there is a kingbird on the premises. 
