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beet prerented by ohooting. 7hie pest season Poster hired a men to 
keep the blackbirds from feeding In one field of 76 acres* The simonltlon 
used In this atteo^t cost in all about $60*00. The effort was euooessfal 
ni^if the birds were unable to do much harm. He stated that poisoning is sosie- 
times suooessfnl and at others not* At times blackbirds refuse to take pol* 
soned grain or again after a number have boen poisoned their oomimnlons 
leave these fields and feed elsewhere* 
W. H* barasay of Bay City olaireed damage from "Jackdaws" (Great-tailed 
Orackles), "Blackbirds" (Brewers Blackbirds) and "Hice-blrds" (Bed-winged 
Blackbirds)* Damage is inflicted in the same way as described by other men 
in preosdlog paragraphs* ilr* Bamsay stated .that in 1917 because of shortage 
of water only about 800 acres of rioe had been ^.>lanted in a region where for- 
merly from 4,000 to 6,000 acres had been grown* He believed that greater 
dftinoe* from blackbirds than usual had resulted as the attacks that formerly 
had been distributed over a vide area had this year been concentrated on a 
oonq;>arativoly small acreage* Bo atten^ts wore made to drive the birds out* 
The amount of rioe destroyed by the birds on the basis of the yield on 
other years for 4tie similar area was given at about 20 per cent of the 
total* 
G* W* Xhlly of Bay City had raised no rioe in 1917 because of sdiort- 
age of water but had grown about 700 acres in 1916 and varying amounts on 
previous years* Be reported muoh damage from blackbirds* Mr* Kelly stat- 
ed that in land that had been devoted to rioe culture for a number of 
seasons it was usually necessary to plant ths seed grain as shallow as pos- 
sible* In some oases ths seed was only partly covered and this was liable 
to be eaten by blaokbirds* These birds also palled the sprouting grain 
