Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-12-29
CROW NOT 50 BLACK
As he IS PAINTED
Friend Rather Than the Enemy
. Of Farmers, an Authority
Insists.


The crow. after all, il the great
American bird. however. much he may
he abused and mathematical. accord
ing 20 the state Orni,holoeist OF
Massachusetts. Edward Howe For
bush, who asks: What sees the
American eagle. and who does no, see
ur hear.thc crow" The crow has bad
name. but possibly he is not as black
40 he IL painted. says Mr.. Forbush'
who. under the title. "Corvus the
crow" tells in the magazine OF the
American Forestry Association some
% the good points ~ the unpopular
AIR. crow.
Tho crow has his uses. lie destroys
many a pest. including the destructive
sypsy moth. and he also destroys
mice, IN. enemies Of song birds. lie
eats white grubs and cutworms. Whic
% IL well TO shoot crows. says the
writer. when they are DOING INJURY
Co ones property. II is quite possipie
to o,crdo the shooting. even under
those circumstances. The following
Instance is cited:
Tho owner 81 "A large sheep farm
found that crows we're killing MS
yuunF lambs, nrst pccking out their
owes and then eating more or less OF
their carcasscs. when he had lost
about two hundred lambs. no offered
a bounty ~ 80 cents a head on crows
although this was against the advice
uf Mr.. rorbush. AS a result the
crows were almost cNtirpated from
Wfnln
ap,co ~ three years. the owner OF
Tho sheep farm found that the grass
IN his pastures was dead. destroyed NJ
The roots by white srubs. which had
multiple oil and nourishcd since the
violent removal of their crow enemies.
n ~ pointed out that possibly some
Of tho dead lambs on which crows
had been feeding In the past were Al
ready dead before the crows tackled
them as they may have succumbed
10 disease. and both lambs and
pastures might have been saved II
watch had been set 20 Kill the Few
euipriis
4 similar sequence % events oc-
cured Ia the New England Colonies
when. in the fourth decade OF the
eighteenth century. laws werc enact
"a Tor the destruction ~ crows and
black hirds. Heads ~ the birds we're
accepted ia lieu % taxes in some
towns. Others paid bounty on the
heads. In Truro. on Cape Cod. every
married man was required to XIII
CERTAIN number ~ them yearly. and
before a single man could legally get
married hc must have turned In his
uuotl ~ heads Tho birds were finally
almos' esterminated. and IN l'aO
Eruha. cutworns and grasshoppers
utacii, ally destroyed tho grass crop
rho Middle states and England had
io come % tho rescue with hay 20
larry the cattle through tho winter
While 10 - poss bic 90 have too many
crows therefore. 80 Is pointed out that
@ q also plain that % Is possible 10
have too few The CROW accounts for
a tremendous number % sruhs and
grasshorpcrs in the course Of the
season
tle,erness.
The Massachusetts, state Arrithoio-
gst has found u crow 90 he Yer,
.i.ve, fellow ~ has investigate,
man, tales ~ his powers ~ mimicr,
and his ability Co adopt the tactics q
other birds such as those % seagulh
% fshins. lie has collected III
record 90 some % the tricks wh.el
crows arc reputed 90 play. Imitation
20 cuckoos and owls and the perfcc
reproduction 90 the whining 81 {
youns puppy are among these imits
lions. The distant barking % dogs
no souaking ~ hens. and the efforu
30 young oocksrei 20 crow are credit
ed o. crows IN reports coming from
New Hampshire. Another CROW
honkeG Ike goose. bile s;iu ano;he
reproduced the drumming noise q IN,
woodp,ckCr Even when the crow i
not Initiating any other N.rd h. make
variety of noises % hs own. g; !,
pointed out and. N the love season
Ger hoas; some very melodious notes
Thruughout Southern New England
~ lssshown. % a. no uncommon thin.
q So three crows ahou; one nes; and
10 one case ~ least q - recorded tina
ihre. crows were ac.uhily ohserv %
fccd.nE tho young. in one nes; Thu
Was iu Fairfield. Conn. IN 1890. las
,ear hire. Boston crows played ~
md down Commonwealth avenu.
with sti-ks In their beaks FOR a ~eei
before they decided just where t,
HHIld The three co-opcrated IN IN
building ~ the nest. two often work
ne n The nest while a third stood ,,
as Inspector. the third Going shift
81 hls own. while the other two wen
~ when the cEgs were deposited
ono Assumed ne duties O, incubation
sh.e IN. other two came and Went
whether this was higany. poly