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| Blackbirds cause havoc _ by E. Lorraine Orr Blackbirds, Beware! Farmers in the Coldwater area are not happy about losing great quantities of their corn and grain crops to the ever multiplying blackbirds. A field requires much preparation before' the corn can be planted and more afterwards. Fer- tilizer, having a high content of nitrogen, is added to the field, along with animal manure. For 100 acres the cost is ap- proximately $2800. The corn, costing $38 per unit of fifty pounds, is then planted along with more fertilizer. Weeds must be controlled by spraying, at an approximate cost of $800. To have all this expense and then lose seventy-five percent of the crop to the blackbirds is more than any farmer ean afford. Some farmers have resorted to shot guns. using many cases of Shells as they regularly startle the birds in the field. Another method is the "hanger". A machine operating ona timer basis with a loud bang also disturbs the birds. A third temporary prevention is an alarm which operates on a 12 volt battery producing a loud chirping distress sound which frightens. the birds However, all this really does is cause the birds to fly to another field. Definitely not a satisfactory solution. Last October following a meeting of concerned farmers, a committee was formed to find an answer. Meetings were held in Toronto with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and_ the Ministry of Environment. The chemicals Avicide and Avitrol have been in the experimental stage at the University of Guelph to discover the most ef- fective repellent. Special permission has been received to use the two chemicals in ex- perimental testing on the farms of Stewart Alderson, Cecil Biggs, Frank Durnford, Joe Graitrix and Howard Hawke. The insecticides have been sprayed on a set number of acres by low-flying airplanes. One method distributes a Cited for volunteer work Villa Nursing Home owner Alex Jarlette reads a letter of recommendation he wrote for Velma Shewfelt and Linda VanVeenan. The girls (foreground) volunteered to work at the Home for the summer and the staff and residents threw a party to show their appreciation. The Belleville girls are heading home to return to school leaving vacancies in volunteer staff that sorely need to be filled aff photo Museum granted $5,000 Simcoe East MPP Gord Smith last week presented a cheque for $5,000 to officials at the Gallery of Historic Huronia in Midland. The 'foundation grant"' is to assist in the con- struction of the new gallery, is one of a series going to new museums all across the province under the Ministry of Culture and Recreation, The formal presen- tation to the Gallery was made to Dr. William H. Cranston, who _ just recently retired from the presidency of the Huronia museum board, with which the Gallery of Historic Huronia is associated. CONSIDER A CAREER IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Programs available in: Mechanical Engineering Technology Mechanical Technician Drafting Technician Contact: Georgian College 401 Duckworth St. Barrie, Ontario (705) 728-1951 10% Discount off all regularly priced items to Students 10% off All service charges to students SYSTEMS LORVIC ss: 58 DUNLOP ST., WEST, BARRIE 726-3942 Luxman...Bose... Teac... Marantz...Aiwa...Interaudio MK Dymek...1AD... Thorens...Bic...Koss...Scotch Maxell...Discwasher...Empire...Keith Monks accessories BIB accessories...SME Tone Arms AUDIO JOIN IN THE FU and excitement with your neighbours. You may be a winner of one of 65 PRIZES =-- PERRIN'S FLOWER SHOP 932! King St. Markle Community Newspapers Midland Times, Elmvale Lance, Penetanguishene Citizen 1st Prize -- *50.00, 2nd Prize *25.00 63 Prizes of *2.00 Gift Certificates Sponsored by MIDLAND FTD FLOWER NAME SCRAMBLE RULES 1 - Solve Flower Name Scramble by re-arrangina the letters shown in the master squares and placing them in the appropriate squares at the bottom of each entry blank, in order to form the names of two flowers 2 - Anyone is eligible to enter except employees of the Markle Community Newspaper Ltd. and Perrin's Flower Shop, members of their families and professional flower growers 3 - You may send in as many entries as you wish on the official forms as they appear each week in the Midland Times, Elmvale Lance or Penetanguishene Citizen. Note: All entries should be saved and submitted with Master Entry Form that will be published November 17th. 4 - Prizes will be awarded as follows: Ist. Prize $50.00 2nd. Prize $25.00 plus 63 prizes of $2.00 Gift Certificates redeemable at Perrin's Flower Shop 321 King Street, Midland 5 - Prizes will be awarded on the basis of correct entries, neatness and legibility. In case of a tie, the entry with the earliest postmark will be judged the winner and prizes will be awarded accordingly. If two or more contestants are tied and their entries have identical postmarks, they will be required to solve a special tie breakina Flower Name Scramble. A participant can win only one prize. The decision of the judges is final, and all contestants agree to abide by the judges decision. All entries become the property of the Markle Community Newspapers Ltd. 6- All entries must include complete entry form from each weeks publication in numerical or- der, along with master entry form which will be published November 17th. They must be securely fastened together and wrapped with sufficient postage attached, and addressed to the Flower Name Scramble Editor, c o The Midland Times Box 609 Midland Ontario, L4R 4L3. All entries must be postmarked no later than midnight Nov. 24th. No entries will be ac cepted other than by mail. 7 - The Markle Community Newspapers Ltd. or Perrin's Flower Shop cannot be responsible for delays in the mails or non-receipt of an entry through any cause, and reserves the right to correct any typographical errors which may appear during the Fiower Name Scramble with due notice in the publications which if is ap- pearing in. 8- The Markle Community Newspapers Ltd. and Perrin's Flower Shop cannot enter into correspondence or telephone conversations regarding invididual entries. 9 - Authority for correct spelling of all the flower names used will be the Webster's International Dictionary. FLOWER NAME SCRAMBLE ENTRY NUMBER -- SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS -- Use each and every letter once only to form the complete and correct spelling of two flowers .. . A|R{S D L {I | M G NAMES OF FLOWERS ARE: O|D Y A Lea]: Lt le LM ie | 2 Ea | L| Name Address Town or City Note Keep all entries until Master Form is published a a i 0 08 8 aaa J ~. square of corn field with netting, thus preventing the birds access to the cobs. This is a yield test to determine how much corn could be brought to maturity if not disturbed by the blackbirds The farmers do not have only the problem of blackbirds: they must also contend with the supply of cracked corn of which every one- hundredth piece of corn is treated to cause the bird eating it to become ill The bird then starts a distress call and the other birds are warned away Mr. Biggs watched over one thousand birds land in his corn field on Tuesday following the spraying on Monday night He reported that within three-quarters of an hour in Coldwater opposition from the conservationalists who do not want any harm done to the birds, regardless of the damage they are doing The question is should the farmer con- tinue feeding the birds or should he destroy the black birds so the crops can feed the people? the birds began to rise in a disturbed way and finally flew away not to return. The other insecticide is a spray put on the corn stocks which irritates the birds' feet when they land on the plants. The corn being treated is not for human consumption Research teams have (705) 322-1991 ~ 2ND MORTGAGES ARRANGED-BOUGHT- SOLD W.C. PLAYER Real Estate Ltd. Broker Elmvale, Ont. covered a twenty foot TESKEY HEACOCK FERGUSON Are pleased to announce that JOHN L: GIGNAC Be Lk BSB Has joined them in partnership} and that the firm will continue the practice of law at 361 King St,. Midland and Queen ST, Elmvale under the firms name TESKEY HEACOCK FERGUSON GIGNAC 526- 7886 322- 2101 855- 3114 Can you afford a heating system that wastes yourmoney? Heating your home accounts for more than 50% of the total errergy you use. 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