The Dolores star., 1924-08-01

aroused against the pelican for its legendary raw
ages upon fish.
The court of last resort is undoubtedly the
United States Department of Agriculture. That
department has issued bulletin by L. K. Kahn
bach of the bureau of biological survey
"Some of the complaints against the crow Mr..
Kalmbach says. ARE wengh traditional while a
few of its beneficial habits have long been matters
of common knowledge. Irreconciable differences
of opinion regarding the crows worth have often
been the rule among residents Of community,
and It has been only recently that sufficient nfor-
nation has been assembled from most parts of
the birds range to allow thorough study of its
habits" And he goes on:
What bird does eat is the first
ton to be answered in an inquiry economic
status. About IS per of the yearly food of
the adult crow consists OF animal matter. In this
are found insects. spiders millipeds. crustaceans,
snaIls. the remains of reptiles amphibians wild
birds and their eggs. poultry and their small
mammals. and carrton.
over twothirds of the animal food. about a
fifth of the whole diet of the is composed Of
insects. and these include many of the most de-
structive pests with which the farmer has deal:
Beetles of various kinds constitute about rs per
miscuous lot. beneficial, neutral, and
others which comprise the major portion, highly
injurious orthoptera. including grasshoppers. To-
Gusts and crickets. form about equal quantity,
but the damage this order of insects nfcts far
ceeds that done by the various beetles eaten. Tho
short-horned grasshoppers especially destruct-
i've and, while these insects have never been such
serious pests in the eastern states in parts
the country amounts to many millions of dollars.
In August and September grasshoppers form nearly
one-ffth of the crows food. Caterpillars form
about Is per cent of the diet of the adults; nes-
things. however eat nearly four times much.
The size and the voracious appetites of crows
make these birds especially valuable times of
outbreak of one or another of the insect pests upon
which they feed. In feeding on mammals the crow
supplements the good work of hawks and owls by
tending to hold in check rodent pests As car
rion feeder the crow ably supplements the good
work of the turkey buzzard. especially along river
banks and tidal flats.
The orenses of which the crow has been ac-
cused outnumber its good deeds. but this does not
mean they are equal in Importance. Many of the
crows depredations may be lessened or entirely
prevented by protective measures while in Its
Ing on Insects 1t does work that i'll be spared
An overabundance of these birds is not to the best
interests of the farmer. but. on the other hand
termination of the crow would result in taking
Consequently the instituting of control measures
Is justifable locally where the birds are taking
.nors % than tair share of the crops in return for
good services rendered, while in other sections
where crows occur In normal numbers they NAV
better be allowed to exist unmoested
Mr. kambach, writing In Nature Magazine Is
emphatic on other points of importance He
says In part:
game law enforcement II the excuse for shooting
crow Will afford a universal. logical and sum
cient reason for being afeld? Experienced admin
istrators Of games laws realize the added Difficult
ties of such situation. In fact anti crow cam
paign conducted in this might well be
looked upon as one of the most disastrous blows nj
efficient game law enforcement since the passage
u .ne migratory o'rd treaty act simplihed warden
service by putting a stop to spring shooting
And yet, aside from these specific objections ia
there not something still more Fundamental nj ,s
sue In situation of this kind? Organized and
privately financed propaganda, with all the imnnrt
that usually goes with that word in current usnp.
has been invoked to formulate public opinion re-
garding the economic position of a wild ature-,
matter In which sound economic principles and Iog
zeal scientinc reasoning alone should prevail
shall repeat what has been said prevlouslv tb.,
under variety of situations crow contro 4. ,,,a.i
fable and even necessary. 1t Is however nrah
lem that. along with other problems that arisa T..
connection with our wild life. calls for sohar
tnousht ioBical reasoning and careful admIpi.,ra
tion. AT all times control measures sbonIa 70 "a
hands OF those who can give us constant assur.
ahce ana guarantee of such procedure LOOSE
In such an undertaking. o p'"es