~ 17 - 
h« i* Alters near Ja Witt olalmea lose oi about 1200 bushels of 
rios largely from blaoicbirus though part of this grain was eaten by duoAs. 
In general damage by blacAbirds at one season or another was olaimed 
by praotioally all of the rioe growers interriewed and was so general that 
it was aooepted by most as a neoessary evil to be endured during the rais- 
Itig of tneir orop« 'fhis damage seemingly was so spread tnrou^ season that 
it was not praotioable to make a definite estiioate as to its extent* There 
is no 4 uestion however but that in the aggregate the grain consumed is of 
ouoh more Importance than the amounts destroyed this season in a few fields 
by ilallards* it seems probable too that the most serious damage is to be 
attributed to the individual birds resident in the immediate vicinity* 
At the present time but little atieiqpt is made by rice growers to 
control the depredations of blackbirds* Bone said that oooaslonally they 
spread oom ohop soaked in a solution of stryohnlne in the fields in spring* 
Others did some shooting partioulurly in badly Infested fields where the rloe was 
in tne allk but othemlso the depredations of these birds were disregarded* 
During my field work in this region some observations of interest were 
made in regard to the presence and movements of blaokbirds* Vlhen 1 arrived 
at Stuttgart tho ground was oovorod by an inch or more of tuiow that covered 
the rioe stubble* This curtailed tne feeding grounds of the large numbers 
of birds present as It covered any food that had lain on the ground* At 
this time essay of the rico growers wore hauling rioe to the mills so that 
wagons loaded with rioe wore constantly traversing the roads* As Jute 
sacks were valued this year at twenty-one oents each most of the farmers 
were hauling rioe loose in apeeially oonstzruoted wagon boxos* 'fhough these 
wagons were of tight construction nmeh rice was scattered along the roads 
