GRAIN \< FOOD. IV 
tusk of breaking up the kernels. The writer watched homed larks 
feeding on prairie land in Indiana where many whole grains of corn 
were scattered about, and found that they passed them by. 
Nearly all of the corn consumed is obtained in the winter, and none 
is eaten In August, September, and October. Many fragments taken 
in winter are exceedingly hard and apparently are not much affected 
by digestion, and the larks would certainly fare badly if much of their 
food were of this character; l>nt gleaning constantly as they do along 
the roads, in barnyards, and feeding lots, they get many fragments of 
corn from the droppings of farm animals. From these sources, and 
from fields where the grain has been crushed by the tires of wagons 
and the hoofs of cattle, comes a great part of the corn they consume. 
Consideration of the above fact- shows that practically all of the 
corn eaten by the horned larks is waste 4 , and hence is of no value to 
the farmer. 
OATS. 
Oats constitute the greater bulk of the grain eaten by the horned 
larks, and it is of interest to note that the major portion of this grain 
taken, as well as that of wheat, is consumed by the horned larks of 
California. The latter eat oats to the extent of 31.1 percent of their 
food, while in the rest of the country the larks consume only 4.S(5 per- 
cent. During sowing time in the country east of the Rockies only 
a small percentage of oats is eaten. One bird was collected in a newly 
sown oat field in Michigan, March 31, and no trace of oats was found 
in its stomach. 
Nearly nine-tenths of all the oats consumed in the year are eaten 
during the months from September to January , inclusive. In the East- 
ern States all grain eaten at this season is waste, but as the sowing in 
California occurs in October or in February, oats eaten in this State 
during these months may lessen the crop. No horned larks were col- 
lected in newly sown oat fields in California, but from data accompany- 
ing the birds it seems that stubble feeding is a common habit from 
October to January. Where the ground is broken up every year the 
stubble grain is of no consequence; but if a volunteer crop is depended 
on, then every grain taken from a stubble field lessens the succeeding 
crop. Even in the latter case, where it must be admitted that the 
larks do a certain amount of injury, it must not be forgotten that 
they eat ants and weevils which are injurious to crops, and that they 
devour the seeds of weeds which might render the hay crop almost 
worthless. 
Oats grow wild everywhere in California and are inclined to remain 
tenaciously on ground once occupied. Professor Beal, after studying 
conditions in this State, considers that, in general, oats found in the 
7:57<)— No. 2:5—05 3 
