The evening times., 1897-06-12
Generally a Deep-Dyed seOun-
drel, He Has Good Points.
A DESTROYER OF INSECTS
His voracious Appetite for Bugs
That Devastate Fruit and Trees
Covers a Multitude of Sins-Pr0-
pensity for Eating Mice Among
His Few Virtues.

friend In Secretary Wilson, OF the Depart
ment OF Agriculture. F. E. a Beal, as
sistant ornithOIOgist of the biological sur
yey, has prepared treatise on the crow,
which, while it shows up in plain oOlors
all the bad qualities of this bird, also
points out his usefulness
There are IL " birds 50 well know as the
common crow and, unlike most other
species, ne does not seem tO decrease Ia
numbers as the country becomes more
densely populated and his persecution in
creaseS IN violence. The crow is commonly
regarded as a blackleg and thief With
out the dash and brillianey of the Jay OF
the bold sayagery of the hawk, he IS ac-
cused OF doing more injury than either.
That ne does pull up sprOuting corn, de
strOy chickens and rob the nests Of small
birds has been rep, atedly proved Nor are
these all OF his signs. He is known 70
eat frogs, tOsds, salamanders ami some
small snakes. all Of them harmless ere atures
that do some good by eating insects With
50 many charges against him, IL may be
well To show why he should not be utterly
ooudeT ned.
1he examination OF a large number OF
stOmachs. while confirming all Jhe fore
going accusations, has thrown upon the
subject light somewhat different from
That derived solely from field OF servation.
IL shows that the 5Irus-nesting habit, as
in the case Of the jay, is not 50 universal as
has been supposed, and that 20 far from
being an habituai nest-rObber, the crow
only occasionally INDUCES IN that repre-
heusible practice. The same IS true in re-
= obi Flr 10 -
to carry off none but very young ones, and
his opportunities for capturing them are
Hunted Neither are many tOads and frogs
eaten, and sfrOgs are OrnO practIcalyalue,
their destruction il not a serious matter,
but toads are very useful, and their CEN
SUMPTION, So far as 1t goes, must be counted
against the crow
Turtles, crayftshes and snaiIs. OF which
he eats quite large number. may be con-
sidered neutral, while uIiCe may te counted
To his credit
In his insect food. however, the crow
makes amends for sins Iu rne rest Of his
dietary. although even here the first item
is against him PredaCeous beetles are
eaten IN some numbers throughout IN sea-
sUn. but the number n not great. May
beetles. June bugs and others OF the same
family constitute the principal foOG during
spnDg and early summer, and are fed 10
the young in immense quantities. other
beetles nearly all Of HOXiOus character,
are eaten 70 a considerable extent
GrasSh0ppeTs are first taken in May. bus
not IN large numbers till August, when, as
might be expected, they form the leading
article Of diet. showing that the crOw is
no exception TO the general Eule. that most
birds subsiSt tO a great extent upon glass
hOppers IN the month or August Many
bugs, some Caterpillars, mostly cutwOrms,
an d some spiders are also eaten. all of them
either harmful or neutral in their economic
relations OF their insect diet Mr.. L. A
Schwarz says. The facts. on the whole,
speak Overwhelmingly in favor Of the
crow"
Probably the most important item in the
vegetable food is corn, and by pulling up
the newly sprcuted seeds the bird renders
himself extremely obnoxious Observations
and experiments with tame crows show
that hard dry corn is never eaten IL any
thing else is 10 be had. and If fed TO nest
Iings is soon diSgOTCed. The reason crows
resort 10 newly-planted fields Is that the
kernels Of the corn are SOftened by the
moisture of the earth. and probably become
more Talatable in the process Of gerIIina-
tiOn, which changes the starch Of the grain
To sugar. Experience has shown that crows
may be prevented from pulling up young
corn by taTTing the seed, which not only
saves the corn. but forces them % turn their
attention TO insects. If they persist in eat
ing green corn il is not so easy to prevent
the damage, but it is probable that very
little injury results In this way.
Crows eat fruit 10 a considerable extent,
but confine themselves for the most part
TO wild species, such as dOgwUOd, sour
gum, and seeds OF the several kinds OF
Sumac. They havealsoa habit Of Satnpling
almost everything which appears eatahle,
especially when food is scarce. Tuey VIII
eat frozen apples found on the trees IN
winter, or pumpkins, turnips, and potatoes,
which have been overlooked. Even mush-
rooms are sometimes eaten in default Of
anything better.
In estimating the economic status of the
crow, it must be acknowledged, says Mr..
Beal, that he does some harm, but on the
other hand he should receive due credit for
the insects that he destroys. In the more
thickly settled parts Of the country the
crow probably does much more good than
harm, especially when ordinary preCau-
tions are taken TO protect newly planted
corn and young chickens from his depreda-
tiOns
Sunday Down the River.
The trip down the river tomorrow win be
n specially interesting one, because Of the