Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-06-11
Crows.
From the New York Times.

latitude If any one suggests that the
crow is not migratory bird, it may be
replied that a mere scientific fact cannot
| be permitted to stand in the way Of a
beautiful politlco- poetic figure. The
crow wave has already spread over the
New Jersey and Long Island fields, and
within few days will dash itself against
the granite pastures of New Hampshire
The day is close at hand when the OBJ
serving farmer i'll all parts of the country
will perceive vast areas of crow sitting
down upon his cornfelds, and will muir
mur ut the hard fate which compels HIM
to raise crops on shares with the dlshon-
est and rapacious birds.
There are people who insist that every
| living creature has its uses, and who
claim that even the mosquito serves some
good purpose. These people pretend
| that the mission of the crow is to nd us
OF carrion, and that We ought therefore
to look upon him with approval. Ii TINS
is the crows real mission, 1t Is evident
that what this country wants Is either
more carrion or less crows. At present
there is not carrion enough to support
one-thousandth part of the whole volume
of crows, and intelligent men cannot be
/
every pound of carrion is e ludicious and
commendable proportion.
There are two radically different meth
DDS of meeting the annual crow invasion
which are adopted among farmers. The
old established method is nothing more
than feeble attempt 10 play upon the
supposed fears of the crow. The farmer
who inherits the superstitions of his an
.lrnfs. 20,
crows. As soon as he plants his corn, he
puts up pole i'll the middle Of the field,
on which he hangs Il suit Of clothes winch
the meanest tramp would refuse 10 wear.
Sometimes he also hangs pieces OF tin to
the button-holts Of the scarecrow. and
imagines that their glitter Will fill The
crows with horror and alarm.
The result of this strategy is always
the same. The crows, when starting ou;
in the morning in search OF a corn n-held,
always look for Il scarcecrow. II tins OBJ
ject is decorated with bits of flashing tin,
they find it even more easily than they
find the less gaudilv decorated scarecrow.
In any event, the moment the crows flnd
Il scarecrow, they express their saiisfac-
tiGn in shouts Of applause, and, settling
down upon the field, devote themselves
to digging up the corn. So far from be-
ing frightened hy the scarecrow, they
look upon it as 3 sign-post erected by u
benevolent farmer expressly to p"iiIi 0ai
to them the locality of corn, and they
make it rule never 30 waste their time
in prospecting for corn in fields where
there are no scarecrows.
These facts are well known 10 every
farmer. The very man who is carefully
rigging scarecrow knows that as soon
as his back is turned the crows Will begin
to dig for corn under the pretended nose
of the scarcecrow. Nevertheless, with an
inexplicabe obstiuacy he clings to his III
herited faith in the efficacy OF the scare
crow fetch, and though he subsequently
daily remarks to his wife, Them crows
don't seem t. care nothing about thai
scarecrow, it is morally certain that next
spring he will rig up Il new one and feob!y
hope tha. it will do some good.
The true way in which to combat crows
is first to study their habits of thought,
and then to endeayor to deceive instead
of to frighten them The crow is one OF
the most astute of birds, aid his reason
ing powers are, as a rulc vastly greater
than those of the average farmer, but II
is by no means impossible to overrcach
him, as profound Long Island farmer
has recently proved.
This farmer founded his anti-cTow
method upon the fact that crows are ar-
customed to rely upon scarecrows to in
form them of the locality of corn-tields.
He owned a large farm, part of which is
devoted to corn, part to potatoes, part
to turnips and part to cabbagcs. He
IN Donlight. an hour after the crows bed
time, so that they could not watch HIM,
and when all was ready he spent nearly
an entire forenoon in rigging up an I'M
posing scarecrow in the turnip- p-field. Dur
ing the afternoon he noticed that there
was a great deal of excitement among the
crows. who were earnestly digging for
corn and finding none, and about four
o'clock lie saw them desert the field and
hold a mass-meeting in an elm tree, where
they passed resolutions with all the ardor
Of democratic convention.
The next morning the farmer removed
the scarecrow TO the potato-fcld, loudly
remarking to his assistants as he did so
that he could not understand how he had
made the mistake OF putting the scare
crow in the turnip-field. As before, the
crows flocked around the scarecrow and
dug up the ground, confident that this
time they would strike it rich Ill corn.
Their subsequent language was some
thing frightful, and their opinion OF the
farmer was expressed i'll terms that an
Arkansas editor liz his most earnest mo
ments could not rival.
The next day the farmer removed the
searecrow to the cIbbagc-tieid. Tins
time the crows did moi wait for him to
leave the field, but began 10 dig while he
WAS still at work In IL very few moments
they were satisfied that there was no corn
in that field In their rage they fell upon
that farmer and drove him into the house,
after which they flew away, and not II
crow has since been seen withint ten miles
Of the place.
Beyond any doubt, this is the true way
in which to treat crows, and were 1t to he
generally followed by our farmers, the
crow would either starve to death or
would be driven on: of the country.