THE BOBOLINK. 431 



Dr. C. Hart Merriara, chief of the Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, makes the following statement, respect- 

 ing this species in his annual report for the year 1886 : 



"One of the most important industries of the Southern States, the cultiva- 

 tion of rice, is crippled and made precarious by the semiannual attacks of birds. 

 Many kinds of birds feed upon rice, but the bird that does more injury than all 

 the rest combined is the Bobolink of the North (DolicJioHijx orysivorus), called 

 'Reedbird' along the Chesapeake and 'Ricebird' in the South." 



The following extracts from a letter from Capt. William Miles Hazzard, of 

 Annandale, South Carolina, one of the largest rice growers in the State, bearing 

 ou this subject, is selected out of several in the above report: 



"The Bobolinks make their appearance here during the latter part of April. 

 At that season their plumage is white and black, and they sing merrily when at 

 rest. Their flight is always at night. In the evening there are none. In the 

 morning their appearance is heralded by the popping of whips and firing of 

 musketry by the bird minders in their efforts to keep the birds from pulling up 

 the young rice. This warfare is kept up incessantly until about the 25th of 

 May, when they suddenly disappear at night. Their next appearance is in 

 a dark yellow plumage, as the Ricebird. There is no song at this time, but 

 instead a chirp which means ruin to any rice found in the milk. My plantation 

 record will show that for the past ten years, except when prevented by stormy 

 south or southwest winds, the Ricebirds have come punctually on the night of 

 the 21st of August, apparently coming from seaward. All night their chirp can 

 be heard passing- over our summer homes on South Island, which is situated 6 

 miles to the east of our rice plantations, in full view of the ocean. Curious to 

 say, we have never seen this flight 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 4 or 5 acres, and shoot daily an average of about 1 

 quart of powder to the gun. This firing 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 5 bushels, and if from any cause there is a check to the 

 crop during its growth which prevents the grain from being hard, but in milky 

 condition, the destruction of such fields is complete, it not paying to cut and 

 bring the rice out of the field. We have tried every plan to keep these p.ests off 

 our crops at less expense and manual labor than we now incur, but have been 

 unsuccessful. Our present mode is expensive, imperfect, and thoroughly unsat- 

 isfactory ; 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." 



From this it can readily be seen that our Southern planters have excellent 

 reasons for destroying the Bobolink by all the available means in their power. 

 The persistent warfare carried on against it must undoubtedly finally diminish 

 its numbers very materially, and the present rarity of this species in many 



