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which means ruin to any rice found in milk. My plantation record will show 

 that for the past ten years, except when prevented by strong south or southwest 

 winds, the ricebirds have come punctually on the night of the 21st of August, 

 apparently coming from the seaward. All night their chirp can be heard passing 

 over our summer homes on South Island, which is situated six miles to the east of 

 our rice plantations, in full view of the ocean. Curious to say we have never 

 seen this tiight during the day. During the nights of August 21, 22, 23 and 24, 

 millions of these birds make their appearance and settle in the rice fields. From 

 the 21st of August to the 25th of September our every effort is to save the crop. 

 Men, boys and women, with guns and ammunition, are posted on every four or 

 five acres, and shoot daily an average of about one quart of powder to the gun. 

 This tiring commences at first dawn of day and is kept up until sunset. After all 

 this expense and trouble our loss of rice per acre seldom falls under five bushels,^ 

 and if from any cause there is a check to the crop during its growth which pre- 

 vents the grain from being hard, but in milky condition, the destruction of such 

 fields is complete, it not paying to out and bring the rice out of the field. We 

 have tried every plan to keep these pests off our crops at less expense and manual 

 labor than we now incur, but have been unsuccessful. Our present mode is ex- 

 pensive, imperfect and thoroughly unsatisfactory, yet it is the best we can do. I 

 consider these birds as destructive to rice as the caterpillar is to cotton, with this 

 difference, that these ricebirds never fail to come." 



Captain Bendire thinks it probable the decrease in the numbers of Bobolinks 

 noticeable in their breeding range in some of the eastern states is due to this relent- 

 less warfare by the planters. That there is no decrease but rather a noticeable and 

 continual increase in numbers and also in the gradual extension of their range in 

 our region is the burden of the testimony I have been able to collect. 



