Page:The Atlantic Monthly Volume 3.djvu/334

326 The Winter-Birds. tiquity of the nation. Hence the sacred- ness with which they are regarded in Ja- pan, where the population is so dense that the inhabitants would feel that they could ill afford to divide the produce of their fields with the birds, unless they were convinced of their usefulness. The Crow is one of the most unfortu- nate of the feathered tribe in his rela- tions to man; for by almost all nations he is regarded with hatred, and every man's hand is against him. He is pro- tected neither by custom nor superstition; the sentimentalist cares nothing for him, as an object of poetical regard, and the utilitarian is blind to his services as a scavenger. The farmer considers him as the very ringleader of mischief, and uses all means he can invent for his destruc- tion; the friend of the singing-birds bears him a grudge as the destroyer of their eggs and young; and even the moralist is disposed to condemn him for his cun- ning and dissimulation. Hence he is every where hated and per- secuted, and the expedients used for his destruction are numerous and revolting to the sensibilities. He is outlawed by acts of Parliament and other legislative bodies; he is hunted with the gun; he is caught in crow-nets; he is hoodwinked with bits of paper smeared with bird- lime, in which he is caught by means of a bait; he is poisoned with grain steeped in hellebore and strychnine; the reeds in which he roosts are treacherously set on fire; he is pinioned by his wings, on his back, and is made to grapple his sympa- thizing companions who come to his res- cue; like an infidel, he is not allowed the benefit of truth to save his reputation; and children, after receiving lessons of humanity, are taught to regard the Crow as an unworthy subject when they carry their precepts into practice. Every gov- ernment has set a price upon his head, and every people holds him up to public execration. As an apology for these atrocities, might be enumerated a long catalogue of mis- demeanors of which he is guilty. He pillages the cornfield, and pulls up the [March, young shoots of maize to obtain the ker- nels attached to their roots; he destroys the eggs and the young of innocent birds which we should like to preserve; he pur- loins fruit from the garden and orchard, and carries off young ducks and chickens from the farnıyard. Beside his mischiev- ous propensities and his habits of thiev- ing, he is accused of cunning, and of a depraved disposition. He who would plead for the Crow will not deny the general truth of these accusations, but, on the other hand, would enumerate cer- tain special benefits which he confers on man. up- In the catalogue of the services of this bird we find many details which should lead us to pause before we consent to his destruction. He consumes, in the course of the year, vast quantities of grubs, worms, and noxious vermin; he is a val- uable scavenger, and clears the land of offensive masses of decaying animal sub- stances; he hunts the grass-fields, and pulls out and devours the underground caterpillars, wherever he perceives the signs of their operations, as evinced by the wilted stalks; he destroys mice, young rats, lizards, and the smaller ser- pents; lastly, he is a volunteer sentinel about the farm, and drives the Hawk from its inclosures, thus preventing great- er mischief than that of which he himself is guilty. It is chiefly during seed-time and harvest that the depredations of the Crow are committed; during the remain- der of the year we witness only his ser- vices; and so highly are these services appreciated by those who have written of birds, that I cannot name an ornitholo- gist who does not plead in his behalf. Let us turn our attention, for a mo- ment, to his moral qualities. In vain is he accused of cunning, when without this quality he could not live. His wariness is really a virtue, and, under the circum- stances in which he is placed, it is his principal means of self-preservation. He has no moral principles, no creed, to which he is under obligations to offer himself as a martyr. His cunning is his armor; and I am persuaded that the per-