USE OF POISON. 91 



Mr. J. V. Henry Kott, of Kingston, N. T., says: "I soak the seed 

 over night, and after draining off the water thoroughly, stir the tar 

 in it by dipping a small stick in the tar and vigorously stirring the 

 seed with it until all is a brown color, after which I stir in plaster until 

 the seed looks like sugar-coated pills. The only objection is that a 

 planter can not be used." 



Hon. 0. L. Merriam, of Locust Grove, Lewis County, N. Y., writes: 

 "Last year iny farmer planted an 11-acre lot with corn, but being out 

 of sight the Crows took it all. This year he poured the seed corn into 

 tar oil, didn't soak it, but took it out and rolled it in wood ashes, and 

 then planted it. Crows opened two hills, didn't like the taste or smell, 

 and let the rest alone. Persons who have soaked corn in tar oil say it 

 kills the germ." 



The objections usually raised to the c coal-tar method' are three: (1) 

 It retards germination; (2) it renders the seed corn so sticky that it 

 must be planted by hand instead of by a planter; (3) it is too much 

 trouble to prepare and plant the seed in this way. The last objection 

 naturally is unanswerable, but the first can be easily overcome by 

 soaking seed for a short time before coating with tar. In this way the 

 growth of the germ is started by the moisture absorbed and the seed 

 will continue to swell and sprout. 



As to the use of a mechanical planter, there is little doubt that the 

 difficulty can be overcome by careful experiments. Air-slaked lime, 

 ashes, powdered earth, or any fine dry powder can be used as an 

 absorbent in place of plaster of paris, and with a little extra care 

 no difficulty should be found in using the planter. It is more than 

 probable that some preparation of tar could be made which would not 

 be sticky and yet carry all the qualities offensive to birds. Tar oil 

 is effective, and very likely creosote, or even crude carbolic acid prop- 

 erly diluted would be equally so. This line of experiment is suggested 

 as a promising one for some experiment station favorably situated. 



USE OF POISON. 



In some parts of the Eastern States, Crows have been poisoned in 

 considerable numbers. It is an easy matter to poison a few Crows, but 

 the general disappearance which so often follows the use of strychnine 

 must be attributed mainly to the Crows' intelligence; the mysterious 

 death of a few serving as a warning to the many survivors, who 

 promptly quit the locality. This fact has been repeatedly observed. 

 Dr. Charles E. McChesney states: "At Fort Berthold, K Dak., where I 

 observed it in numbers in the spring of 1873, doing much damage to 

 the young corn and other parts of the crop, it was quickly driven from 

 the vicinity by poisoning corn and sprinkling it around the scene of 

 their operations, and although only a few dead birds were discovered, 

 the survivors took the hint and left for a more agreeable abode." 1 



1 Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr. V, No. 1, 1879, p. 80. 



