Several periods of suDnormal rainfall have "brought increased damage 

 to crops "by these "birds, apparently "because of scarcity in their natural 

 ha"bitats of vegetative groTiTth necessary for food. In contrast, in the winter 

 of 1934-35 ar. abnormally heavy rainfall occurred over the entire Sta.te, and 

 during the sTiramer of 1S35 damage "by horned larks averaged less than 20 percent 

 of that inflicted during the preceding five-year period. 



Depredations cannot "be entirely "blacied on aridity, hOT^ever, for sporadic 

 attacks occur even during midwinter after heavy rainfall. Damage is noted 

 also on slopes immediately above the ocean where moisture always is present. 

 Moreover, these "birds exhi"bit at times a, marked propensity to continue feed- 

 ing upon certain fields once "they have a.cquired a taste for the succulent 

 young plants, even tho^jgh an a'bundance of nat-'oral food may "be availa"ble in 

 closely adjacent areas. 



In many districts it has "been necessarj'' to modify cropping methods 

 to guard against the attack of the larks. In certain areas crops especially 

 sought oy them are no longer planted; summer-growing crops are, if possi"ble, 

 planted in May in order that the plants may he large enoiogh to escape the 

 attack that "begins la,te in June; and winter-growing crops are often not sown 

 until after the first rains in the fall; even then, a prolonged fall drought 

 frequently occasions a severe "bird attack. 



Severity of Damage 



The severity .of attack naturally varies with seasonal and topographic 

 circumstances, crop production methods, availa"bility of natural foods, and 

 with the density of the "horned lark population. It must also be considered 

 in computing economic losses that some of the crops attacked require an es- 

 pecially fertile, hence high-priced, soil. The cost of preparing the soil 

 for seeding often is increased "by specialized methods demanded, and irriga- 

 tion and cultural methods add to the overhead, making the culture of some of 

 these crops a costly undertaking. Losses are therefore keenly felt. 



Innumerable records of estimated losses from depredations and costs 

 of control operations are availa"ble, from which only a few illustrative exam- 

 ples are noted. In 1927, near Murray, in Kings County, a packing company 

 planted 40 acres of spinach. Just as the plants "began to emerge from the soil 

 a concentration of horned larks destroyed approximately 34 acres of the crop 

 within a 48-hour period. In 1932 the same company planted 240 acres of spinach 

 in the same vicinity. Costs of $2,000 were incurred in la"bor and ammunition 

 in an effort to protect the -crop, yet fully 40 acres were totally destroyed. 

 ITo spinach has "been planted in that area since 1932. 



In 1933 severe losses were suffered in Riverside Coijnty in plantings 

 of sugar "beets for seed. American production of this seed is an infant 

 industry, aiad the damage in retarding its development here was far greater 

 than the cash appraisal of actual losses in time and material. 



In 1934, in San Luis 0"bispo County an agricultural official estimated 

 that fully 500 acres of "beans and lettuce were destroyed. During the same 

 period there was reported from Saniia Bar"bara County the loss of well over 



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