76 BULLETIN 621, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
pared with control experiments under similar conditions. In no case was any 
injury by the tar demonstrated. The same results were secured when the 
treated seeds were spread out and permitted thoroughly to dry before being 
planted. * * * Some surprise, however, was felt at the result of the use of 
turpentine, for the experiments demonstrated that a protracted treatment with 
this substance is extremely injurious. * * * 
Corn freshly treated with either of the tar preparations could not be em- 
ployed in the corn planter without experiencing great difficulty in uniformly 
dropping the seed. On the other hand, it is found that when properly spread 
on the dry floor the treated corn will completely dry out in a few days so that 
it may be used without difficulty in a planter. According to the experience of 
others a quart or two of fine land plaster or sifted ashes may be mixed with 
the seed immediately after the tar treatment, and the treated seed may in this 
way be used immediately without serious inconvenience. In this case it would 
perhaps be wise to use a minimum amount of tar. 
Reference is then made in the report to similar and more exten- 
sive experiments conducted at the Illinois Agricultural Experiment 
Station, 1 which produced the same favorable results in respect to use 
of coal tar. 
These various experiments demonstrated conclusively that the use 
of coal tar according to the formulas and methods stated is in no way 
injurious to the seed itself. Germination, however, is delayed slightly 
even under conditions favorable to growth, and in times of drought 
this delay may be two or three days. 
That the process of treating the seed with tar has met with favor- 
able results in deterring crows from the sprouting grain in this 
country has been demonstrated repeatedly by many practical 
farmers. It appears from the mass of correspondence received from 
those acquainted with modern farm methods and practices through- 
out the country that the tarring of seed grain is most extensively 
practiced in the North Atlantic States. Though a vastly greater 
amount of corn is raised in the States of the upper Mississippi Valley, 
seed corn is seldom tarred there. From the same reports it is learned 
that, when properly done, tarring has almost always proved suc- 
cessful and, beyond the pulling of a few spears of grain (enough to 
get a taste of the tar) , the crows usually inflicted no further damage. 
Accordingly, it may be recommended that coal tar used at the 
rate of about a tablespoonful to a half bushel of seed grain, which 
has been previously heated with warm water, and then drained, is 
a fairly successful crow deterrent. A continued stirring of the grain 
will eventually permit an even coating of tar. The seed must then 
be spread on a dry surface, or drying may be facilitated by the 
application of some absorbent medium, such as ashes, land plaster, 
or powdered earth. When thoroughly dried the grain may be used 
1 Forbes, S. A., Bull. 130, 111. Agr. Exp. Sta., Dec. 1908. 
