234 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



[Circular No. 5.] 

 CIRCULAR TO RICE-GROWERS. 



The Department of Agriculture desires the co-operation of rice-growers in its 

 attempt to secure tnistwortliy information concerning tlie extent of the injury 

 ar.nually doiu- the rice crop by certain birds, chiefly the Bobolinlc or Rice-bird and the 

 Red-winged Blackbird; and in devising some measure or measures, consistent with 

 reasonable economy, for the diminution, if not the prevention, of this loss. 



Information \fi reply to the foUo^ving questions is sohcited: 



1. Are you a rice planter? 



2. If so, how many acres have you under cultivation? 



3. ^Vliat is the average yield of rice per acre? 



4. What do you consider a fair estimate of the average annual loss per acre occa- 

 sioned by birds ? 



5. Please cite a few extreme cases. 



6. What percentage of this loss is due directly to the value of the rice consumed, 

 and what indirectly to the cost of gathering and thrashing the worthless gi'ain? 



7. What is the average annual cost per acre of measures employed for the pre- 

 vention or diminution of this loss ? 



8. In addition to the use of fire-arms and whips, what measures, if any, are em- 

 ployed for this purpose ? 



9. How many ' ' bird-iuinders " are employed annually upon your plantation dur- 

 ing the fall invasion of Rice-bu-ds ? 



10. How many pounds of gunpowder are consumed annually during this period? 



11. Is shot now used on your plantation ? If so, in what quantity ? 



12. What kind or kinds of bu'ds are most destructive to rice ? 



13. At what time of the year and for how long a period are these birds present ? 



14. What is the greatest number of Rice-birds that you have known to be killed m 

 a single season ? 



15. Does the rice crop on your plantation sustain a loss from the depredations of 

 birds at time of planting in spring? If so, what is the average loss per acre at this 

 time? 



Any information relating to the subject, though not covered by the above ques- 

 tions, will be thankfully received. 



In some cases the above circulars were accompanied by schedules. 

 The number of each distributed will appear in the following state- 

 ment: 



CIRCULARS AND SCHEDULES DISTRIBUTED. 



On the food-habits of bkds 4, 000 



On the English Sparrow 4, 000 



On the economic relations of mammals 2, 500 



On the collection of birds' stomachs 600 



To rice-growers 600 



11,700 



Schedules: 



On the English Sparrow 5, 000 



On migration 1, 500 



Stomach blanks 500 



7,000 



Total of cu-culars and schedules distributed from July 1 to December 

 10. 1886 18, 700 



This numljer does not include cu-cular letters, of which 2,345 have been sent out; 

 making 21,045 in all. 



The correspondence of the di^dsion is so large that it is very bur- 

 densome. More than four thousand letters were acknowledged dur- 

 ing the six months ending December 31, 1886. 



At the outset it was seen that two birds pre-eminently claimed the 

 immediate attention of the division, namely, the so-called English 

 Sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the Bobolink or Rice-bird {Doli- 

 chonyx oryzivorus). These birds, by their numerical abundance, the 

 extent of the damages they were said to cause at certain times of the 



