Crows in the corn

I've been reading quite a few gardening books of late. I'm trying to find things that will grow in the shorter, cooler summers here in Grand Marais. This endeavor has lead me to look more at heirloom, open pollenated varieties than I ever have before. The mainstream varieties offered by most seed companies today are geared more for longer seasons; they have to make a profit to stay in business—and Grand Marais and such aren't exactly huge markets : )

Anyway, they know me by sight now at the library. I walk in and they automatically go to the interlibrary loan shelf : ) One of the books, now out of print (but offered in electronic format by Mother Earth News) is Heirloom Vegetable Gardening. I find it delightful and informative. Much of it is oriented to warmer climates, but there are some real gems in it. This one seemed too good not to share. Try this is the crows are getting your corn crop before you:

"Soak a few quarts of dried corn in whiskey, and scatter it over the fields for the crows. After partaking of one such meal and getting pretty thoroughly corned, they will never return to it again."—Farmer's Almanac, 1864, cited in Weavers, page 141

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Apparently crows have more sense than humans...
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