216 



AMERICAN FORKSTRY 



The "AirouBON Food House." Copied from a Food House Originated by Baron 



Von Berlepsch. 



this one stands in meriden, n. h. 



Photo by Ernest Harold Baynes. 



the protection of the forest, and we be- 

 Heve that there is less damage from in- 

 jurious insects at present than before 

 these bird protective measures v^ere 

 practiced." 



Probably the most convincing in- 

 stance of the value of birds in control- 

 ling insect outbreaks in the forest 

 occurred in 1905, in the private forest 

 of Baron Hans Von Berlepsch, who has 

 been mentioned as the originator of the 

 special measures of protection which are 

 being copied in the forests of the valley 

 of the Rhine. Parenthetically it should 

 be stated here that the Baron's system 

 consists in supplying to birds their 

 three chief needs: (1) Favorable nesting 

 sites, of which many of the original 

 natural ones are removed by the in- 



tensive practice of agriculture and 

 forestry; (2) Food and water in larger 

 quantities than would naturally be 

 present, especially in winter; (3) Pro- 

 tection from their natural enemies 

 through the killing off of polecats, 

 weasels, stray cats, English sparrows, 

 certain hawks and jays, and some other 

 predatory animals. In his forest the 

 Baron placed several thousand nesting 

 boxes, carefully made in imitation of the 

 nesting holes excavated by the wood- 

 peckers, which latter are commonly 

 used by many of the most useful forest 

 birds. These were placed from 30 to 

 40 paces apart throughout the broadleaf 

 stands, and at various openings in the 

 dense coniferous stands. The birds, 

 especially the woodpeckers and the tits 



