Show INVITE ti foffi W J tb be NOW neighbors NEIGHBOR ff 6 fafard w drw 1 r martin house HOUSES FOR BIRDS the purple or house martin Is riot not one of the most valuable destroy arg rs of insects but also Is a lovely bird alth most graceful flight fight and interest ng ag habits martin houses are built on he be apartment plan to satisfy the so lial lal instinct so marked in martins but 10 conspicuously lacking in most other ards they usually contain not less llian ten nor more than twelve rooms t N 1 tf fc e 1 A li w ia U an V upper longitudinal vertical section of os o s m martin house low martin ma house martin house lowered and doors 01 1 ered doors placa doors closed closed open lower bower root roof of martin house attached proper way to make first hitch of rope solidly to pole on 01 hook on counterweight counte and for tills this reason are relatively complicated especially if they are miniatures of elaborate buildings as Is often the case like the single room houses they should be easy to inspect and clean from top to bottom and it if possible should be made proof against the english sparrow A combination of df these essentials in a plain house has been worked out by the united states bureau of biological survey as d i u ll 11 TO 10 d d 4 n Q horizontal section of martla martin house cross vertical section of martin house hous raised and doors open illustrated in the accompanying figures the body of this house slides upon its pole to the top of which the roof Is solidly attached the pole Is hollow and through it runs a cord by which the house Is raised and lowered the floors are all removable by lifting up when the house Is out of contact with the root roof all of the entrances tire are closed by gates actuated by springs the gates moving upward to close and being kept down and open by pressure against the tha root roof by means mearitt of this device sparrows rant may oe kept out of the house until martins tre due to arrive or if they get in achen the house Is open they can be by udd ud doly evly lowering it the pole shown here to la mafle made from hardwood boards put together with screws the concrete base has a core of two inch iron pipe which extends upward far enough to make a firm connection with the upper part on which the house slides A heavyweight heavy weight Is employed to hold the house hard against the root roof by passing the cord around the hook book of the weight exactly ai aal shown and pulling it upward until the weight Is clear ot of the gro grousl url 1 it can easily be held without slipping while a more secure knot can be tied lied A hook less wearing to the cord and fully as serviceable may be made from an acute natural crotch of oak or other hardwood instead of iron where this house Is exposed to strong winds it may be advisable to attach guy wires to corners of 0 the roof the pole may be made of a single piece of four inch galvanized pipe set in a concrete conc rett base in this case the house should be a cylinder and the root roof a cone |