76 BULLETIN 621, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



pared with control experiments under similar conditions. In no case was any 

 injury by the tar demonstrated. The same results were secured when the 

 treated seeds were spread out and permitted thoroughly to dry before being 

 planted. * * * Some surprise, however, was felt at the result of the use of 

 turpentine, for the experiments demonstrated that a protracted treatment with 

 this substance is extremely injurious. * * * 



Corn freshly treated with either of the tar preparations could not be em- 

 ployed in the corn planter without experiencing great difficulty in uniformly 

 dropping the seed. On the other hand, it is found that when properly spread 

 on the dry floor the treated corn will completely dry out in a few days so that 

 it may be used without difficulty in a planter. According to the experience of 

 others a quart or two of fine land plaster or sifted ashes may be mixed with 

 the seed immediately after the tar treatment, and the treated seed may in this 

 way be used immediately without serious inconvenience. In this case it would 

 perhaps be wise to use a minimum amount of tar. 



Reference is then made in the report to similar and more exten- 

 sive experiments conducted at the Illinois Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, 1 which produced the same favorable results in respect to use 

 of coal tar. 



These various experiments demonstrated conclusively that the use 

 of coal tar according to the formulas and methods stated is in no way 

 injurious to the seed itself. Germination, however, is delayed slightly 

 even under conditions favorable to growth, and in times of drought 

 this delay may be two or three days. 



That the process of treating the seed with tar has met with favor- 

 able results in deterring crows from the sprouting grain in this 

 country has been demonstrated repeatedly by many practical 

 farmers. It appears from the mass of correspondence received from 

 those acquainted with modern farm methods and practices through- 

 out the country that the tarring of seed grain is most extensively 

 practiced in the North Atlantic States. Though a vastly greater 

 amount of corn is raised in the States of the upper Mississippi Valley, 

 seed corn is seldom tarred there. From the same reports it is learned 

 that, when properly done, tarring has almost always proved suc- 

 cessful and, beyond the pulling of a few spears of grain (enough to 

 get a taste of the tar) , the crows usually inflicted no further damage. 



Accordingly, it may be recommended that coal tar used at the 

 rate of about a tablespoonful to a half bushel of seed grain, which 

 has been previously heated with warm water, and then drained, is 

 a fairly successful crow deterrent. A continued stirring of the grain 

 will eventually permit an even coating of tar. The seed must then 

 be spread on a dry surface, or drying may be facilitated by the 

 application of some absorbent medium, such as ashes, land plaster, 

 or powdered earth. When thoroughly dried the grain may be used 



1 Forbes, S. A., Bull. 130, 111. Agr. Exp. Sta., Dec. 1908. 



