The Crow in Its Relation to Agriculture. 17 



Other deterrents. — A few years ago the Kansas State Agricultural 

 College Experiment Station conducted a series of experiments on 

 seed grain to ascertain the usefulness of certain deterrents against 

 burrowing animals. Incidentally the effect of these various sub- 

 stances upon the germinating powers of the seed was investigated. 

 In his report on this work, Theo. H. Scheffer' says in part that kero- 

 sene, crude petroleum, copperas, crude carbolic acid, fish oil, and 

 spirits of camphor, when used in sufficient quantity or strength to 

 impart an odor to the corn, seriously injure the germinating powers 

 of the grain ; and that to treat the seed with any of these substances 

 in such small quantity or dilute form as not to injure the germ is a 

 waste of time, for the slight taste or odor imparted is soon dissipated 

 in contact with the soil. ^ 



Similar experiments^ conducted by B. M. Duggar and M. M. 

 McCool, at the Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell Univer- 

 sity, indicated that of a number of substances employed, turpentine 

 emulsion and an anilin oil solution seriously affected germination. 

 Such substances should be carefully avoided. 



The manufacture of deterrents for use on seed grain has been 

 undertaken on a moderate scale in this country, and a few articles 

 of this nature also have been imported. Most of these appear to use 

 coal tar or closely related products as a base ; one at least contains 

 a copper salt and is a poison ; while the merit of one imported deter- 

 rent appears to be based on the fact that the treated seed is a brilliant 

 blue. None of those tested by the writer has had any harmful effect 

 on the seed ; but there is no evidence that any of these manufactured 

 silbstances is superior to coal tar as a deterrent when the latter is 

 properly applied. 



SCATTERING GRAIN. 



Many farmers have had considerable success in protecting their 

 sprouting crop by spreading broadcast over the fields a quantity of 

 grain previously softened with water. This the birds take, leaving 

 imtouched that which has been planted. It has been foimd that a 

 comparatively small quantity sacrificed in this way during the short 

 period of a week or 10 days when spouting corn is subject to damage 

 has often prevented loss to the growing crop. 



POISONING. 



Though the crow would be a most difficult bird to eradicate over 

 any considerable area by a campaign of poisoning — a fact due largely 

 to the bird's wariness — such a method has been found an effective 

 means of protecting crops. When once a flock of these birds have 



1 Kansas State Agr. CoU. Exp. Sta., Circ. 1, p. 3, Apr. 28, 1909. 

 "Cornell Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta., Circ. 6, pp. 14-16, May, 1909. 



