Crows Raid Corn

Crows Raid Corn

I have been observing some crows. They have been pulling up Burleigh Williams's corn, and I am very much concerned about it, but not so much as when they start to raid mine. So far I have been standing them off.

When I went in on them the other day, I got a hill between me and the felons, and I was approaching most carefully for it was a good place to creep up on them, when I heard the alarm given: "Caw, caw, caw." And three crows came into the air in full flight and went sailing over the point of the hill where they must have a home. Then the sentinel near the top of the tree flew away.

I am convinced that the sentinel was stationed there by the gang to watch out for trouble. If John Burroughs in the Elysian fields now looks down on his fellows here below he must be amused at the way these crows have reasoned out the situation. Man has reasoning powers and instinct, but these birds have reasoning powers and instinct combined.

The crow that had been in the corn the other day when the sentry warned them had been working on the outside row next to the woods. No other row showed first signs of ravage. These birds were determined to raid that corn but took as much precaution as a moonshining. The reprehensible part of the proceeding was that the crows took the hills as they came and left nothing for the farmer.

The time old rule is in dropping corn:

One for the cut worm, One for the crow, One for the bird, And one to rot in the hill.

But I am going to change that rule to read:

One for the cut worm, One for the crow, One for the bird, And one for the farmer.