Show TOWN HOME helpa SOME BIRDS ARE NEGLECTED familiar robin and friendly chickadee almost forgotten by the birdhouse builders in the last five years e have heard and read a good deil about birdhouse building bluebird wren and martin ought now to be well provided for by all bird lovers other birds have also been mentioned along with the box nesting idea as the flicker and the crested fly catcher though these fellows undoubtedly much prefer natural holes in trees which the woodpecker generally makes for himself and the fl catcher selects with great care there are exceptions of course flick ers have been known to select holes previously excavated and even those made by man and we have had the crested fly catcher tale up quarters in a deserted bluebird box of hollow limb appearance that was nailed to the trunk of a tree some birds however have been almost forgotten and one of these Is our old familiar friendly robin while an other Is less familiar but not lesa friendly the cheery chickadee robins generally build their nests in vines on densely foliaged foll aged tree limbs often in more exposed places some times on porch pillar top or roof beam but if they are offered a rather open and roofed box set on a pole and shielded from cats they are very apt to set up housekeeping therein the ideal robin box Is merely a floor with cleats two opposite sides and a gabled root two sides therefore being open and this set on a pole from ten to tw enty feet in air will tempt the birds most surely dimensions inside should be about 10 by 10 by 6 inches DIRTY STREETS AND GERMS diseases of the respiratory organs are directly attributable to un pavements bead any metropolitan paper on aun day and note the tabulated causes of deaths during the preceding week als eases of the respiratory organs lead all the rest to acety engineer of this fact should be ap parent grip colds in general tuberculosis and all the lra tory diseases have their origin in germs these germs for the most part come from expectorated expect orated matter that falls upon streets there to dry and be blown about alth the dust that aery gust of wind or motorcar sends upon its deadly journey says a writer in engineering and contracting to apply water effectively in cleaning pavements it Is essential that the surface be smooth and well crowned this condition Is not perfectly fulfilled inlo per cent of the streets in america at a safe guess and it la not even approximately fulfilled in 30 per cent of the streets in brief more than two thirds of the streets in american cities need resurfacing it a marked reduction in respiratory diseases la to be effected this does not mean of course that every city Is in need of any such overhauling but it does mean that the average city needs it and it needs it badly protecting tree wound no cohering of a tree wound will in anywise hasten the healing process or help form a callus its sole office is one of protection from decay insects etc while the stub Is gradually being covered by new growth dressings should be whenever the wood becomes exposed to keep out in until entirely calloused over or if decay or other germs or insects once get a lodgment een it the wound entirely heals over the infection may work until the tree dies or becomes hollow the callus Is formed by the cambium tissue or inner barl that lies beaw een bark and wood the old wood itself takes no part in the healing process but on the contrary and Is therefore a menace to the life of the tree so cut branches as to leave no stub and then use white lead red lead oil grafting wax creosote lar asphalt or any material which completely caters and escude 3 air and later A |