284 ■ AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



can be no question that, so far as the poultryman is concerned, 

 the only good crow is a dead one. For a number of years the 

 crows killed and either carried away, or left behind partly eaten, 

 a large number of chicks on the Maine Agricultural Experiment 

 Station poultry plant. The losses were not by any means con- 

 fined to the small chicks, but half grown birds, nearly if not 

 quite equal in weight to the crow itself, were killed and partly 

 eaten and left behind on the range. In a single year the crows 

 destroyed something over 500 chicks. One after another all 

 the devices which had been suggested by others or could be 

 devised by those in charge of the poultry work, were tried in 

 order to stop these ravages. X'^arious sorts of scarecrows were 

 put up but with no effect whatever. Dead crows were htmg 

 up on stakes about the yard as solemn warnings to their fel- 

 lows, but instead of operating as warnings they appeared rather 

 to serve as "invitations to the dance." Decoying the birds in 

 various ways, so that they might be shot, was tried but with 

 very slight success, and no substantial effect on the steady 

 losses. Poisoning, which is reported to have been used with 

 success in other places, has never been tried on the Maine Ag- 

 ricultural Experiment Station plant and it is very doubtful 

 whether it is ever justifiable, save under very exceptionable 

 circumstances. The point is that it is difficult to manage a 

 poisoning campaign in sirch way as to insure that the crows 

 and only the crows will get the poison. There are so many 

 useful and valuable animals about tlie farm, which might very 

 easily get the poison before the crows did, with resulting losses 

 greater than those caused by the crows, that it would seem wise 

 to resort to poisoning only when it can be done under well 

 controlled conditions. 



The plan which has finally been adopted on the Maine Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station poidtry plant for dealing with 

 crows is one which is perfectly safe and sure in its operation. 

 It consists simply in running strands of binder twine about two 

 feet apart over the whole of the poultry range occupied by the 

 young birds. These strings are left in place until the chicks 

 attain such size that they are able to take care of themselves. 

 These strings are run over the tops of the brooder houses 

 and on supports made by running cross strands 20 to 30 feet 

 apart of either wire or of five or six strands of binder twine 



