NON-POISONOUS DRESSING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 561, 6 September 1880, Page 2

NON-POISONOUS DRESSING.

The following method of dressing seed jcorn to preyent .the deatruotidii by• birds at seed time has been recently corii.muuicated to the London Times by, MrjV Howard, of OlaphamPark,-Bedfordshire. Being simple and inexpensive it 'should commend itself ;to) the farmers of tliisf country. ; Ifeisas - ;■; i,

■ ■;•!•' l?or eight 'bushels' of i,; six bushels of barley, take: half ;apini of gas 1 tar, two pounds of blue,vitriolj and:kp ;

'B^acourate^^ and|shbrild;f [MM «• : ;tar ia-put', ivvto'a ;bf water aHould;Be poured upon) ; ifc ; .and well .Btirred-j the!;: black greasy) aoura whioh will rise to the surface should be : ;flkimtaed':offiwith a wispiof;straw-or; piece ofaaoking, to whichit will readily; adhere.,: While:this operation is going on: another man should be mixing the vitriol withthe.btlier gallon of water. 'When mixed .together, •anoVpoured"Over' the heap of corn,; preyioualyshpt out on the barh floor; the heap should be well turned over two; or JhrepJimes quickly ,':Bb as tosaturate>the: whole. If auy,tar.or-dregß remain»at the bottom of .the'pail r ..they,.ahould.not .be poured>on the grain,; or it will stick toigether in lumps, and be likely to clog the drill cups. I have, used;"this dressing for several years with complete success ;■ not' | a single boy has'been -employed to' mirid I the fields, nor has.a gun been fired, The I full i plantj rhoweyer, Vwhetherf wheat;or barley, has' afforded.evidence that no loss had accrued! A new bailiff, who wished to save trouble,,planted a field of barley last spring without dressing the seed; but some, 200 sable depredators from a rpokery hard by gave him alessbh which is not likely to be lost upon himj for, as he remarked to me, the field was a constant source of yeption to'him, while, as to other subsequently drilled with dressed corn, he 'could riot find the mark of arookpeck upon them.! I may add that other birds appear to have- as great, an aversion to the taste of tar as rooks."