I don't know but if I ever had an actual field of crops, I'd build one. That said, my father farmed from eight to ten 40-acre plots at times, and he didn't have any scarecrows.
I think that the making of the Wizard of Oz, has managed to immortalize the noble scarecrow. Modern horror movies, have turned them into monsters. If today movie-makers only had a brain.....!
Scarecrows would not work for me. I got chickens to take care of the grasshoppers but they scratch up the seedlings. Slugs make a mess of a lot of things. Voles, chipmunks... Maybe a teeny tiny scarecrow?
"There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away Dorothy saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds away from the ripe corn." The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) Baum's Description "Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back. "
My gardens scarecrow went extinct when I stopped gardening. I didn't need a stick with clothes on it, I simply went out early before any effort was made to alter my looks, and the birds took flight beating their wings in fright.
What Is the History of Scarecrows? "The immigrant German farmers of the 1800s brought their scarecrow ideas to North America when European settlers were still mostly using live patrols, and the scarecrow concept gained enormous popularity during the period of westward expansion. Larger farms in sparsely populated areas needed to be protected from birds that would eat the crops, so Midwest farmers continued using scarecrows all the way through the Great Depression and World War II". "Chemical farming of post-war industrialization brought an end to the functionality of the scarecrow for modern farms, but smaller farms and hobbyists continue using scarecrows for their functional, decorative and historic value".
FYI from the internet Crafts, live music & more at Delavan's Scarecrow Fest Witness the scarecrows being built at Scarecrow Fest Saturday, Sept. 18, in Delavan. DELAVAN WI— Downtown Delavan will usher in the fall season with the 21st Annual Delavan Scarecrow Fest Saturday, Sept. 18. The free festival is a community-wide, family-oriented event featuring decorative scarecrows, family activities, live entertainment, craft and vendor fairs. Scarecrows line the sidewalks, food, arts and crafts vendors, flea market, live music, and Delavan's famous duck raffle. Kid’s pumpkin decorating kit pick up and scarecow kit pick up available.
14 Proven Tips to Scare Off Crows & Magpies Fast. There's a reason why scarecrows were invented - to keep crows away!