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size of the field and the condition of the grain at the time of examination seemed conservative. Some damage here had been done by blackbirds but the major part was to be ascribed to ducks. Several pictures were taken in this field. 

At the farm of R. I. Alters nearby Mallards had been working in about 40 acres of shocked rice but the damage in this and another field estimated at about 1200 bushels was due in large part to blackbirds as was shown by the large quantities of rice hulls scattered about. The outer sheaves in the shocks were stripped as described above in the field belonging to Mr. Moses.

William Simpson below De Witt claimed that Mallards had destroyed one field containing between 100 and 125 acres of rice in the shock with a resultant loss of about 5,000 bushels of grain. As soon as possible an effort was made to thresh the rice in this field but as only eight or ten bushels of rice were secured from fifteen loads the attempt was abandoned, and the remaining grain was left in the field. At Mr. Simpson's invitation a dozen or fifteen men came down here to shoot at night in order to keep the ducks out but had little success. The birds began to come in here about nine each evening and left before dawn. I visited this field and found the remains of the rice shocks scattered about and the seed heads entirely stripped. As hogs had been turned in here to feed I was not able to arrive at the original condition after the ducks were through. The shocks examined all showed evidence of damage by birds and Mallards were still feeding here. About 500 Mallards were working in this field at the time of my visit. 

J. MoMillan who was farming rice on a field of 100 acres belonging