'■, . ■• . ^ : ATTRACTLFG; WI^HT-HES- ■'- ■ ■. • 



: In sor^o soctioris the rancher obtains all tho available:- heads of slaught- 

 ered cattle from tho cjnmunity slaughter ^hou-s-c^, mounts -thorn upon- short poles, 

 and blacGS thoLi a f intervals ovor'ths field. Some farmers coll act all the 

 available v'hite chickens in the vicinity, .kill th'.v^i, and scatter the -dead .: 

 bodies at intervals ovo-r the field, ,Both these practices are 'based upon the 

 theory that i^ultures, attr-a:ctod by the baits, y:ill- frighten away the homed 

 larks. These methods, hov.-evef, fc-.rc i'neffoctivo,' as homed larks, coming from, 

 their roosting places in stubble or grassfields, generally appear in tho 

 field? soon- after sunrise i -..hereas the vultures do not take vdng until the 

 •air has •'f.rarmGd up, often tvvo or three hours later. Hence the homed larks 

 have .considoi:able opportunity for f-^^eding before "the -"/ultures appear. Further- 

 ifiore,' horned larks have been- observed time after tim.e feeding irithin I5 feet 

 of vultures and evincing no fear. - ' _• , 



"■ Tlic use of tho dead vhito chickens, hevever, has a secondary'' of feet of 

 sotrie slight,, value .- As the carcasses are eaten by predators a mass of v;hite, 

 feathers is liberated. In much of the area v.hiore damage by homed larks 

 occurs, there is a strong breeze nearly every day, and the v/hite feathers 

 flutter across the fields before tho vdnd. As long as feathers are moving 

 in sufficient densit;>/, they have sojae effect in repelling larks. 



SC/.SECH)i-S ■ ' ' . , 



A great variety of scarecrow's has been devised, Gen.iral faults of these.' 

 are: ■ First, .that they are usually sparsely di stributed, and' second, . that ■ 

 they' have no motion. 'To remedy those faults -costs m.ore than otho.r methods 

 recommended. As a .rule, scarocrot/s are rank failures. 



One rancher built and placed in his fio+d a nuiriber of home-made vindn'dlls 

 \vith blades about 2 feed long. In tho strong midday sea breeze common in that 

 district the x^ndi'aills -vv-hirl vigorously and make- ccn.siderable' noise , Homed .,-■ 

 larks remain'..d at some distance from these machines, but the cost of placing 

 theri '>ver a field in numbers sufficient to protect the crop '"•/'euid be pro- 

 hibitive . .■ - ■ ' . . . _ 



•PAPER CONFETTI . 



One ingenious ri'.nchor, in a district v;hich -^las a onstant sea' breeze, hit 

 upon the idea of tearing vld newsprint into small pieces and throv.'ing them into, 

 tho air at -the i.andv.are m.argin of the field v/hencc they iTore relied and tumbled 

 across the field by th .; breeze. As -long as the density of ' torn paper i:as 

 sufficient and -the motion centinuod, he-mod larks .avoi.dod, the field.' Naturally 

 trie ro.ncher tired u£ the c nstant attention demanded and did not continue the 

 trial. Shortly af t:;r/-.'ard, homed larks came back intc the field and destroyed 

 alm^ost the entire planting. 



FAF'iRS OF Tin G.^n^D 



The first -.^f the methods here discussed that appear to have any continuing 

 protective effect is th;".t of placinv; pieces of paper on tho ground, '.■;eighted 

 dov,T- v-dth clods of earth. Tno degree of success depends upon the frequency of 

 distribution of tho papers over the field and the use of strips ef paper 

 v.-oightod at ore end rather than largo she.'ts of paper that have little motion. 



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