Dr. Riggs had raised corn and watched the operations of the crows. Going
upon the field in less than a minute after the crows had left it, he
found they had pulled the corn, hill after hill, marching from one hill
to the other. Not until the corn had become softened and had come up
would they molest it. In the fall they would come in droves on to a
field of corn, where it is in stacks, pick out the corn from the husks,
and put it into their gizzards. They raid robbins' nests and swallows'
nests, devouring eggs and young birds. Yet crows are great scavengers.
In the spring they get a great many insects and moths from the ground,
and do good work in picking up those large white grubs with red heads
that work such destruction in some of our mowing fields.
Mr. Pratt stated that he had used coal tar on his seed corn for five or
six years, and had never a spear pulled by the crows. Dr. Riggs never
had known a crow to touch corn after it got to the second tier of
leaves. Mr. Lockwood said crows would sample a whole field of corn to
find corn not tarred. Mr. Pratt recommended to pour boiling water on the
corn before applying the tar. A large tablespoonful of tar will color a
pail of water.
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