368 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



mate to their now home. The next 

 ,la\ Mrs. Martin inspected every room 

 in the house while Mr. Martin sal 

 the chimney of the mansion looking 

 for neighbors; ami in less than a week 



there were eight couples in Jacobs- 

 ville, as the martins eall it. At that 



J. WARREN JACOBS. 



time there were less than two dozen 

 martins in Waynesburg. Last year 

 1,200 of them left there about the 28th 

 of August for their flight south to the 

 West Indies, Central and South 

 America. 



On September 17, 1908, 25,000 of 

 these real aviators were gathered from 

 all parts of Pennsylvania, West Vir- 

 ginia, Ohio, and states still farther 

 north and they halted for the night at 

 New Martinsville, W. Ya., an Ohio 

 river town about forty miles south of 

 Wheeling, which, if it wasn't named in 

 their honor deserved to be, at any rate 

 they took the city. 



The first thing that attracts the no- 

 tice of strangers when they get off the 

 wiggle-waggle choo-choo cars at 

 Waynesburg is one of Warren Jacobs' 

 martin houses that stands right in the 

 center of the Depot Park. 



Why do people all over the country 

 order these expensive martin houses? 

 Why do noted fanciers, bankers, edu- 

 cators and home builders want these 



martins to colonize near their home? 

 A little study of the daily diet of the mar- 

 tin will probably aid in this. Mr. Jacobs 

 .ays: "The Purple Martin is one of the 

 most beneficial birds, living entirely upon 

 winged insects. Thousands of these 

 pests are captured daily, in the vicinity 

 of a thriving colony. The further fact 

 that the young remain in the nest 

 rooms about four weeks, to be fed by 

 their parents, increases this bird's 

 value as an insect destroyer." On a 

 summer's evening it is an interesting 

 sight to watch hundreds of these birds, 

 darting, wheeling, soaring and gliding 

 to and fro, high in the air in pursuit 

 of all forms of winged bugs and beetles. 



Mr. Jacobs says: "It undoubtedly re- 

 quires millions of insects to feed an 

 ordinary brood of martins and sustain 

 them and their parents until the time 

 arrives, late in August, for them to 

 take their departure." The martin is 

 the friend of man as man is the friend 

 of the martin. The noble redman of 

 the forest was the first to build a rude 

 house for him and it was he who start- 

 ed the evolution that has changed the 

 martin's home from a hollow tree to a 

 house built after all the modern plans 

 of architecture. 



The martin is one of the most indus- 

 trious birds that is to be found any- 

 where. He does not belong to any 

 labor union. The cry for an eight-hour 

 day has never reached his ears, in fact, 

 he works sixteen hours a day for a bare 

 living. He does not dress extrava- 

 gantly, wearing on all occasions the 

 same somber suit, the conventional 

 black, as the village editor describes 

 the "duds" worn by the bridegroom. 



It is conceded by all who are in a 

 position to know that Mr. Jacobs 

 knows more about martins and their 

 domestic bliss than any man living. 

 His grand gold medal, the highest 

 award given by the Louisiana Pur- 

 chase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904 

 was not awarded on store eggs. He 

 holds a membership in the greatest 

 scientific societies, including the one at 

 which King George of England is at 

 the head, the Royal Society of London. 



Is there a market for martin boxes? 

 Waynesburg is a sample of what can 



