iii6 



Rural School Leaflet 



Jiinco at feeding shelf 



preferably the one nearest to a tree. If the window sill is ver^^ broad, 

 it will be sufficient to nail a cleat along the outer edge to keep the food 



from blowing ofT. Usually, 

 however, it is more satisfac- 

 tory to fasten a board from 

 eight to twelve inches wide to 

 the sill to act as a shelf. It 

 may be made the entire length 

 of the window sill or only a 

 part; but the larger it is, the 

 more birds will feed together, 

 for our native birds all want 

 l)lenty of elbowroom while 

 they are feeding. A narrow 

 strip should be fastened to 

 the edge of the shelf to keep the food from blowing off. At the westerly 

 end a small evergreen tree or a large branch should be fastened. This 

 offers shelter to the birds and proves as attractive as the food itself. 

 It may be nailed to the window casing, or a hole may be bored in the shelf 

 to hold it. It should be as large as can be conveniently held in 

 place. 



In case there is not a suitable window sill for the shelf, the suggestion 

 of Mabel Osgood Wright for a flagpole feeding-shelf may prove even more 

 satisfactory. 



" Every school has a flagpole, and while some are fastened to the build- 

 ing itself, many stand free and are planted in the yard. 



" Around this pole a square or circular shelf about eight inches wide 

 can be fastened, four feet from the ground, and edged with a strip of l)ead- 

 ing, barrel hoops, or the like. A dozen tenpenny nails should be driven 

 on the outside edge at interv^als, like the spokes to a wheel, and the whole 

 neatly painted to match the pole. 



" Then, each week one child should be appointed as bird steward, his 

 or her duties being to collect the scraps after the noon dinner hour and 

 place them neatly on the counter, the crusts and crumbs on the shelf 

 and the meat to be hung on the spikes. 



" Nothing will come amiss — pine cones, beechnuts, the shells of hard- 

 boiled eggs broken fine, apple cores, half cleaned nuts; and if the chil- 

 dren will tell their parents of the counter, they will often put an extra 

 scrap or so in the dinner pail to help the feast. Or the fortunate children 

 whose fathers keep the market, the grocery store, or the mill may be able 

 to obtain enough of the wastage to leave an extra supply on Friday, so 

 that the little pensioners need not go hungry over Sunday. 



