668 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



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Fig. 39. — Proper way to 

 make first "hitch" of 

 rope on hook of coun- 

 terweight. 



^sfSBJy 



37.^Martin 

 house lowered; 

 doors closed. 



every patch of weeds or brush frequented by 

 these birds. Fastened to a large horizontal 

 branch or in a crotch of a tree it is likely to be 

 used by robins. 



The house shown in Figures 12 to 15 is 

 designed to be set on a pole or a tree stub for 

 the use of swallows especially. It can be 

 cleaned b}^ siniply lifting the box from its base. 

 Bluebirds and wrens, as well as swallows, nest 

 in this style of house though they prefer a 

 deeper cavity. Another pole house is shown 

 in Figure 17. This is essentially after the 

 woodpecker model and is suitable for bluebirds. 

 By releasing the hooks which fasten the box 

 to the base, cleaning is easy. Figure 19 

 illustrates a house to be attached to a tree. 

 It can be opened for cleaning by turning a 

 button and removing the bottom. This house 

 is easy to build and if suitably proportioned is 

 adapted to a great variet}^ of birds. Plans are 

 furnished for two sizes — one for bluebirds and 

 the other for screech owls or sparrow hawks. 

 The flicker house shown in Figure 23 is 



designed to be placed on a 



post or the stub of a tree. 



The roof can be lifted in the 



same way that a stopper is 



removed from a bottle. A 



house suitable for members 



of the woodpecker family 



and also for nuthatches and ^^^ 



titmice, including chicadees, 



is shown in Figure 25. It 



is attached to boles of trees. 

 The bottom is removable, as appears in Figure 

 26. 



Figure 29 shows a house designed for wrens 

 and house finches. For wrens it may be placed 

 on a tree or fence post. If attached near the Fig 

 eaves of a building, house finches or wrens will 

 use it. The front gable is open, entrance to 

 the room below being through the rear of the upper floor, 

 opened for cleaning by lifting out the upper floor. 



Martin houses are built on the apartment plan to satisfy the social instinct so 

 marked in martins but so conspicuously lacking in most other birds. They usually 

 contain not less than ten or twelve rooms and for this reason are relatively compli- 

 cated, especially if they are minatures 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, if possible, should be made proof against the English sparrow. An 

 attempt to combine these essentials in a plain house is illustrated in Figure 32. 

 The body of this house slides upon its pole, to the top of which the roof is solidly 

 attached (Figure 36) . The pole is hoUow 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 roof all of the entrances are closed by gates 

 actuated by springs, the gates moving upward to close, and being kept down and 

 open by pressure against the roof. By means of this device sparrows may be kept 

 out of the house until martins are due to arrive, or if they get in when the house 



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Fig. 38.— Martin 

 house in place: 

 doors open. 



This house can be 



