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Show I How to Care for Birds and RIake Them Comfortable Rj, A TOMATO CAN makes a first WFh class bird bouse If fastened to a HLf tree or the side of a barn Ail Hitift J necessary Is to cat a square piece HftC enough for a door out of one side jgW the end that Is to be the top leav BjK cue side of the square uncut, how so that the piece of tin can be mused outward at right angles to make K?lter above the doorway and keep off HkI the can is fitted over the top of Kmoie It will not need any other bot BPfjWeBri and bluebirds readily occupy Hfgtefeenses which ought to be placed In RgtaOt because the bright metal be-HMJBeTlrery be-HMJBeTlrery ho In Uie sun HJP Is one of a number of ideas sng Hyypta by the Government Biological IBBftP Q & book it is soon to Issue about l7B'(U8BSeB and How to Build Them." laflsjpnication is designed to afford in HKWOb m" architecture for certain HHjpcred creatures when it is deemd BPWncable to attract to tne immediate wgfcorhood of human dwellings m Practise of erecting bird houses rfflw 61111 in view 13 b comlns raS-Vej raS-Vej tore popular all oer the United MCj&e Md as one res 1 it has been 5"TM that many species f birds hitherto t w?lei lrreclaimably w Id can easily be pi- wrsuaded to become companions of man few years ago n y f o r species were j-wnroonlv regarded as house birds the I -rei he r- oDlrd the tree swal a eiartn one the move-p move-p oct birds di1 make neigh ' U" of tbem began however tiielr tureB and needs have become better un dTirtood and it Is expected that as the requisite facilities are afforded and as the number of birds hatched la houses increases It will be practicable to Invite the companionship of thee feathered friends with increasing success At all seasons birds may be gathered about human dwellings by offering them what they need In Winter they are o'ten pushed for food and If this re quirement be supplied they will report daily at the lunch counter On the other hand in Summer they prefer to forage for themselves and other means must be sought to attract them They appreciate: appre-ciate: fresh water for bathing and drink tng A shallow pooh If only a foot across becomes on hot days a centre of attrac tkn for all the birds in the neighbor hood It may be provided with a pan set In the ground and containing a few PeBlrrJs are desirable not only on account of their beauty and song but because of their usefulness as destroyers of harm ful insects especially during the breed lug season when they are obliged to work early and late to obtain sufficient Tood for their nestlings If feathers bits of wool or twine be scattered about a dozen different kinds of birds wil make off with t em. If houses be provided In which they can rear their younr com forubly n ost of them will be occ pied Bird houses in the Soutnern States have long been made In very mple ?asl .on out of gourds a ho e on one s do serjrlns. far & A p C w e through the neck affords the requisite means for attaching the gourd to a tree branch or elsewhere A number of gourds thus prepared and strung on a pole seem to make a satisfactory apart ment house for a colony of martins Used slngl they are equally well adapted to wrens and bluebirds While not durable w hen exposed to weather they are easily replaced Ordinary wooden boes if clean can be made into bird houes by merely nail lng on a coer and cutting out an en trance hole but such makeshifts are rarely weatherproof and never pleasing to the eye Branches containing real woodpecker holes when obtainable are perhaps the bes attraction that can be offered most house birds In the breeding season By carefully fitting such a branch to a fruit tree or shade tree its foreign origin may le so far disguised as scarcely to be noticed Builders of artificial houses generally go to the voodpecker for designs and by varying stales to suit the tastes of dif ferent kinds of birds are rewarded by such tenant as ch ckadees tufetd tit mice wl te breas ed nuthatel es Carolina Caro-lina wrens 1 le green swallows crest sd fly-catel e s sc eecli owls sparrow hawks and even some of the woodpeck ers the mas er builders themselves Redheaded ind gold n fronted wood peckers are i ng o xmpants of artifl cial bouseR f pr per y designed Some bird3 are at sfied with aln ost anv sort of lod gs Th & Mueb rds pi 1 wrens are content to build in tomato cans but chickadees and nuthatches dls data such contrivances Wood i3 a bet ter building material than metal En trance holes should be counter-sunk from the outside to exclude rain Heads of nails and screws should be set rather deeply and covered w th putty All houses should be easy to open for-clean lng A perch at the entrance is unnec essary and may even be objectionable as it is liable to be used by English spar rows whjje they tw tier in a way tl at is exasperating to the more desirable oc cupants A kind of bird house suitable for use in tree3 may be made from a section of log that has been hollowed by decay It should be fitted with a top and bottom Another way to make a log house is to split a straight grained log two feet In length through the middle and then to cut out a cavity with a gouge The exca vatlons in the two halves of course should be made to match exactly It is des rable that the hahes be fastened together vith screwB in order that the house may be taken apart and cleaned and the top of it ought to be covered with tin or zinc to keep out moisture Mart n houses are bu It on the apart mei-t plan to sat ttv tl e social instinct v.1 eh s bo marked in birds of this species spe-cies tl ongl consp c ousl laok ng in most ot! or feathered creatures Ihey u t al y conta n not less t an ten or twcl e rooms md for tl s r ason are rel atl ely comp ated e e a f as is f en the case they a e n uiaturet. of elabora 0 ou ldings |
