Trouble With Crows

 Wherever there is an abundance of food, there will be an abundance of critters.  Such is the case on the farm I am working on. With planting corn comes the duty of killing crows. I decided to look in my new book for some old methods of keeping crows at bay.

 This excerpt comes from the book "The Southern Gardener and Receipt Book" by Phineas Thornton published in 1839.

 TO PREVENT CROWS FROM PULLING UP CORN

 Soak seed corn in a solution of Glauber salts, from

twenty-four to forty-eight hours before planting and 

no living animal, with the sense of taste will eat it. 

This method of preventing crows from destroying 

corn was accidentally discovered by John B. Swasey, 

Esq., of Meredith, N. H., several years since. He 

directed his hired man to soak a quantity of seed corn

preparatory to planting, in a solution of saltpetre. 

BY mistake Glauber salts were taken for nitre ; the

mistake was not discovered, until it was nearly all 

planted; the piece of ground was finished with dry

corn. The part of the piece planted with soaked 

corn remained undisturbed ; while the dry corn was 

nearly all destroyed by crows, blackbirds, and 

squirrels.  Page 269