The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-09-16
THE CROW.
From Chambers Journal.

nccu not nope 10 escape the shafts OF calumnV
that being the case, it is only according to the
nature of things that SIander should empty
her quiver when the object of her ,,nknd at
tentons is as black as 4 crow. Luckily, hcl
| arrows are not so deadly rs her malice would
have them, or the crow would long ago have
e been as extinct rs the dodo but like his rela-
# tive, the pricst-banned jacktlaw Of Rheims
n he is not bit the worse for all the hard word,
levellcd at him merely because he happens il
have good black coat to his back.
shrewd Scotch observer remarks that
crows have Il very keen and correct perception
: of changes in the weather, and that stormy
winds may be presaged when they teed greed
lily. and fly speedily along the lower edges OF
the glens; while, if they betakc themselves tc
sheltered places when the tempest begins, il
: is a certain indication that it will increase tc
a hurricane. Still, their weathcr-wiscom does
; not suffice to save them from coming lcstuc-
; ton. In 1899, thirty-three thousand dead
crows We're counted on the shores of u lake in
- Westmeath, a!tera violent storm few wears
ago, the beach of Crow Island, favorite re-
sort Of the Ccylon crows. was strcwcd with
the remains of the birds killed by Il thunder
storm; and when the Pee, Patch Island was
, inundated one night, the shores for miles
were blackened by the bodies Of thousands OF
unlucky crows, as the streets of Calcutta
clone swept the Indian continent
, Our sable subject owes no little of his evil
reputation to the fact that nature has not
cursed him with u fastidious palate; but ii he
can make a meal off what bird of nicer taste
would rather starye than touch, he only does
SO when nothing better can be GOT. There
is no doubt that when the choice is given him.
he prefers dinin. upon 4 tender leveret or
young rabbit and he will work hard enough
at unearthing grubs and worms where he cln
earn a fair wage for his labor. Itmust be a,l-
mtted the crow has an unfortunate liking for
poached eggs, combined with the bliSstul 10
norance of the sacrelness Of u partridges or
pheasant's nest, while he will not hesitate at
approprlating stray ducklings or chckcns-it
they come in his way. When stealing eggs,
he generally impales them dexterously on his
bill, but not always. Mr.. Weir frightened a
flying crow into dropping his burden, and
found it was 4 wild ducks egg, perfectly
whole. Another crime Of which this bird is,
upon very strong evidence, accused, is that OF
putting sickly sheep out Of their misery and,
rs Mr.. Hogg puts ii, Of descending to the
most dishonorablc lodges to maintain HIM
self in good condition. The gentleman per
sonally complains that while at other times
his farm was only favored by the patronage
of a single pair of crows, in the lambing sea-
take advantage Of the ewes in their hour Of
trouble, and destroy both them and their of
spring. The crow is by no means Il onc-ilca
bird. Small teathercI game he strikes Is il
flies sheep and such like victims he first dis
ables by picking out their eyes: if he oct;
hold of a nut he cracks the she'll by dropping
it again and again from Il great height. One
was seen to Kill u young duck by laying it
upon the ground and walking backwards and
forwards over it until its life was trodden out
Of it and the Roman naturalist tells Us of u
thirsty crow heapng stones in an urn contain
ing rain water it could not reach, until it
brought the drlught to Il convenient height
n'-- .tH', 'f .1it wow IL S:t1l to have ty en-
ty-iive moduations. IIo 1,e-o...,. a., ..I.,,
ity of imitation to an extraordinary degree.
''At the moment | am writing this say :.
Pliny, there is in the city Of Rome :, crow
which belongs TO :: Roman Of equestrian
rank, and was brought from Bntica able TO
pronounce several connected words. and re-
peatcdly learning fresh ones" There is
nothing very surprising in this, considering
that the corvnc family is famous for it, pos
session of the often worthless Gift Of Cab.
This initiative faculty makes the crow an
amusing pet; he is easily tanned, being of u
sociablc temperament, and may be taught
many tricks, while he is not incapable of at
tachment. Mr.. Weir kept one for some time,
which flew around about the ncighborhood
in the day, and roasted at night in his shrub
berry. The sound Of his masters voice was
enough to bring him to him Immediately to
receive his caressng, but he sharply resented
any strangers making free to stroke his back,
This birds fHVorite amusement was TO peek
the heels of Darrtooteu urchins. His memory
was astonishing. One Monday morning, af-
ter being satialed with food he picked up n
mole in the orchard, and hoped with his
prize into the garden, where he buried il 80
nicely that his master who had been watch
ing his proceedings, could not discover where
: he put it. As his wings had been clipped to
: prevent him flying over the garlcn-walI he
was unable to get into the garden again until
the Saturday evening, when seeing the door
was open, he hopped at once to where the
mole lay hidden, and disnterred it in the
) tWinkling of an eye.
In 1907. 4 gentleman told the following sto-
~ in Il magazine IN the spring Of 1889, \
) boy brought Il nesting crow to my house,
) where he remained until the harvest follow
ing, when he disappeared. In June, 1870, |
observed q crow approaching near the house,
and suspecting it might be my old bird, threw
II piece OF bread to him, which he Immediate
ly picked up. From that time he paid rcgll-
lar visits, and is known by the hamc of Wat
tie. After pairing, he brings his mate with
returns with his allowance, when they eat very
lovingly together. In breeding-time, he
comes very often, and when his young take
wing, brings them to 4 little distance from
the house. If he finds the door fast, he caws,
t then thumps on the door with his bill, and il
still unsuccessful utters a pretty loud sound
5 like the barking of 4 little dog. If he meets
me ut distance from the house, he comes up
to me, and if coming home, accompanies me
all the way, either hopping or taking short
flies He once recognized me three miles
from home, and | was obliged to beg some
| bread to pacity hm"'
The NATIONS THAT EAT Mosr. The ruling
people of the world, who have from time to
time shaped the destiny of humanity, have al
, ways so far as can be ascertained, been lib
eral feeders. This remark applies, of course,
only to the ruling classes in these natonali-
ties, and not to the slave or peasant class,
who lived with them, but were not Of them.
But Of the patrican or governing orders OF
society-the leaders of the world in lcgisll-
, ton, in war, in commerce, in science and
litcrature-it is pre-cminently true. The
dominant classes among the Babylonians, the
f Persians, and especially the Romans, Were