. Bulletin - Biological Survey. Zoology, Economic. SEED PLANTING BY CROWS. 23 roosts in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. The usual size and appearance of these pellets is shown in the accompanying figure (fig. 1): The number of seeds distributed by Crows is enormous, and since it has been shown byexperiment that the vitality of / \ j|| such seeds is not impaired by the partial digestion to which they are subjected, it is evident that Grows effect the distri- bution of many plants. Reference to the chapter on the vege- table food of the Crow (pp. 81-87) will show that the stomach contains f
. Bulletin - Biological Survey. Zoology, Economic. SEED PLANTING BY CROWS. 23 roosts in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. The usual size and appearance of these pellets is shown in the accompanying figure (fig. 1): The number of seeds distributed by Crows is enormous, and since it has been shown byexperiment that the vitality of / \ j|| such seeds is not impaired by the partial digestion to which they are subjected, it is evident that Grows effect the distri- bution of many plants. Reference to the chapter on the vege- table food of the Crow (pp. 81-87) will show that the stomach contains fruit seeds at all seasons, but especially during the autumn. It is certain, therefore, that southward-bound Crows FlG- i-Crow pellet or casting. deposit the seeds of many common fruits all along their migration route. Some of these, as the wild cherry (Primus), flowering dogwood (Cornus), and red cedar (Juniperus), produce valuable and beautiful trees or shrubs, while others, like the poison ivy and poison sumac (Rhus), are detestable weeds. In the vicinity of roosts such seeds are sown by the million; many of these survive and add to the store of food for birds, and some to the misery of mankind. The following facts serve to show how extensive is this seed planting by Crows in the vicinity of the winter roosts: On February 8, 1889, I visited the well-known—almost historical—Crow roost located on the Virginia side of the Potomac Eiver just opposite Washington, D. C. The exact location of this roost varies from time to time, but at the date mentioned it was entirely within the grounds of the national ceme- tery at Arlington, and covered an area of 12 or 15 acres of second- growth deciduous trees. The ground beneath these trees was pretty evenl}r covered with the ejecta of the Crows, forming a deposit which in places was an inch or more thick, though the average deposit was probably rather less than half an inch. A representative spot free from underbrush was selected, and al
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