Viewing page 33 of 117

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

- 15 -

the shock frequently stripped the exposed grain.

Instances of damage to shocked rice came under personal observation in some of the fields examined. The work of black birds in mature rice may be readily distinguished from that of ducks as while the latter swallow the grain entire the blackbirds crack off the rough more or less spinosely pubescent hulls and eat only the rice grain itself. Damage from this source was especially evident in fields examined near De Witt. In the field belonging to J. McMillan described above it was estimated that about half of the damage inflicted was done by blackbirds. Rice hulls were scattered in heaps about the bases of many of the shocks and could be scraped up in handfuls. Mixed with these hulls were quantities of bird droppings of the size and general appearance of blackbird excreta. It would seem that the blackbirds rattled off much grain in feeding as considerable amounts of good rice were mixed through the samples of hulls examined. This loose grain was of course lost to the producer even though it was not eaten.

Alfred Cummings of Hagler who has a threshing outfit stated that he had noticed many instances in the fields where he had threshed of injury by blackbirds. In some instances whole sheaves would have the heads entirely frayed out where the birds had been working on them. In certain cases he estimated from the subsequent yield in threshing that the losses from blackbirds had run as high as ten bushels to the acre.

T.F.Gibbs living near Hagler estimated that Bronned Grackles during the first week in December had eaten about 300 bushels of rice in one field belonging to him while the grain was still in the shook. He attributed loss in this particular instance in part to the fact that the field was bordered by trees which gave the birds convenient resting places when they were not feeding.