214 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



year, but during that period they are of 

 vast importance as checks upon the in- 

 crease of insects injurious to forest 

 trees. Finally certain birds of prey, 

 such as the sparrow, marsh, and red 

 shouldered hawks, and the little screech 

 owl, should not be forgotten; for, by 

 preying on the mice which girdle young 

 trees, and on other rodents, they per- 

 form a valuable service to the forester. 

 It^is hardly necessary to go further into 

 a subject regarding which there is prac- 



measures shotdd' be taken to protecf 

 and increase such birds. The city to 

 Frankfurt am Main expends about $400 

 annually in such work. An area of a 

 hectare, adjacent to one of the forest 

 nurseries, has been especially set aside 

 for bird protective work in an intensive 

 way. Of the 100 specially constructed 

 nesting boxes on this area, 90 per cent 

 are said to be occupied by birds each 

 year. Feeding stations and baths are 

 also maintained, one of the latter being 



A Nearer View of a Nest Platform Made by 

 Pruning of a Thorn Bush. 



Owing to the rather dense foliage the structure 

 of the "whorl" cannot be clearly seen. Estate 

 of Baron Von Berlepsch. 



tically no difference of opinion among 

 investigators. We may therefore as- 

 sume that bird protection in the forests 

 is justified and desirable on purely eco- 

 nomic grounds. 



It is interesting to note that German 

 foresters reached this conclusion as re- 

 gards their forest birds some time ago, 

 and they are now showing us how to 

 answer the third question, as to what 



One of the Nest Platforms Formed by the 



Pruning of a Thornbush. 

 The shoots are cut back each year, in order that 



leaves may surround and protect th; nest. 



Estate of Baron Von Berlepsch. 



SO constructed that the water is pre- 

 vented from freezing in cold weather by 

 the heat of kerosene lamps beneath it, 

 while blocks of wood and perches are 

 set in the water at varying depths to 

 accommodate different species of birds. 

 Darmstadt has placed some 6,000 nest- 

 ing boxes in her woods, of which be- 

 tween 80 per cent and 90 per cent are 



