The first tiling to do is to let tliem alone. Let them be as free from 

 danger and fear as you or I. Take the hammer oft" the old gun, 

 give pussy so much to eat that she will not care to hunt for birds, 

 and keep away the boys who steal eggs and who carry sling-shots 

 and throw stones. 



Bird houses. — For some kinds of birds we can build houses. 

 Although birds may not appreciate architecture, it is well to make 

 the houses neat and tasty by taking pains to have the proportions 

 right. The floor space in each compai'tment should be not less than 

 five by six inches, and six by six or six by eight may be better. By 

 cutting the boards in multiples of these numbers, one can easily 

 make a house with several compartments ; for there are some birds, 

 as martins, tree-swallows and pigeons that like to live in either 

 families or colonies. The size of the doorway is important. It 

 should be just large enough to admit the bird. A larger opening 

 not only looks bad, but it exposes the inhabitants to dangers of cats 

 or other enemies. Birds which build in houses, aside from doves 

 and pigeons, are bluebirds, wrens, tree-swallows, martins, and some- 

 times the chickadee. For the wren and chickadee the opening 

 should be an inch-and-a-half augur hole, and for the others it should 

 be two inches. Only one opening siiould be provided for each 

 house or compartment, A perch or door-step should be provided 

 just below each door. It is here that the birds often stop to arrange 

 their toilets ; and when the mistress is busy with domestic affairs 

 indoors, the male bird often sits outside and entertains her with the 

 latest neighborhood gossip. These houses should be placed on 

 poles or on buildings in somewhat secluded places. Martins and 

 tree-swallows like to build their nests twenty -five feet or more above 

 the ground, but the other birds prefer an elevation less than twelve 

 feet. Newly made houses, and particularly newly painted ones, do 

 not often attract the birds. Birds do not build in houses made of 

 green lumber. Make the houses in February and March, and let 

 them season. 



Watch the Birds. — But if the birds and I are companions, I must 

 know them more intimately. Merely building houses for them is 

 not enough. I want to know live and happy birds, not dead ones. 



604 



