78 BULLETIN 621, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



more quickly and its effectiveness will last for a considerable time 

 even when exposed to weather : 



Corn 20 quarts. 



Strychnin (powdered) 1 ounce. 



Starch 2 tablespoonfuls. 



Water li pints. 



Mix the starch and strychnin in the water and heat to boiling, stirring thor- 

 oughly after the starch begins to thicken. Pour this mixture over the corn and 

 stir till every kernel is coated. The corn may then be spread out and dried. 



Successful results also have been obtained by the use of partially 

 blown hens' eggs into which a small quantity of strychnin has been 

 injected. These should be placed on the tops of stacks or in inclosures 

 from which poultry and all farm animals are barred. Carrion or 

 meat of any kind is another convenient and efficient medium for the 

 poison. Such bait works best in winter when the birds are hard 

 pressed for food. 



TRAPPING. 



Trapping has brought relief at times when other methods have 

 failed. No wholesale reduction in the number of crows has ever been 

 accomplished by this method, but when once a few of these birds are 

 trapped and their dead bodies hung up about the fields their rela- 

 tives are inclined to shun the immediate vicinity. These birds have 

 been secured mainly in steel traps carefully concealed and baited 

 with hens' eggs. 



SHOOTING. 



Continued persecution of crows with firearms has at times brought 

 relief from their depredations, but the unusual wariness of these 

 birds has made this method of killing them difficult. The use of crow 

 decoys and crow " calls " to attract them within gunshot has been 

 resorted to with more or less success. Placing a stuffed owl in a 

 conspicuous place and within easy gunshot has been successful in 

 luring number of crows to a point where they can be shot. 



Writing of the fish crow in this connection, Louis A. Zerega 

 states : 1 



Mr. Keller shot most of the specimens that were killed by him from the 

 cover of a "blind" over "decoys" (which are simply pieces of blackened 

 pasteboard of bird shape, set up at different angles so as to present a side 

 toward each direction). As the crows fly over they see the "decoys" and, 

 supposing the place to be a good feeding ground, fly toward it : I have even 

 seen common crows alight before discovering their mistake. 



Frank M. Chapman gives an interesting account 2 of an attack 

 made by crows upon a mounted barred owl. After placing the 



iBull. Nuttg.ll Orn. Club, V, No. 4, p. 206, October, 1880 

 2 Bird Lore, XI, No. 1, p. 4, January-February, 1900. 



