Rural School Leaflet 



1117 



" All the while the flag will wave gaily above the little Citizen Bird, 

 as under its protection he feeds upon his htunan brother's bounty." 



Once the birds have found the suet in the trees, those pieces farthest 

 from the feeding shelf should not be replenished or should be brought 

 closer and closer until the birds have found the shelf. When the shelf 

 has been found, there is no further need for the suet in the trees, and 

 efforts should be concentrated in keeping a bounteous supply of food always 

 ready on the shelf. 



The author has personally had the greatest success in establishing 

 feeding stations by imitating natural conditions as nearly as possible. 

 In the absence of trees about the spot that was most convenient to 

 watch, a large discarded Christmas tree was erected, and about its base 

 was thrown a pile of brush. Close by a log was placed standing on end, 

 to resemble a dead tree for the woodpeckers. A shorter log was capped 

 with the top of a barrel, and protected from the weather by a hood impro- 

 vised from barrel 

 hoops and a piece of 

 cotton cloth. On the 

 ground was laid a de- 

 caying log slightly 

 hollowed to hold seed. 



From time to time 

 the station was sup- 

 plied with food, and 

 the birds found rich 

 stores. Pieces of suet 

 were fastened to the 

 standing log, or 

 rammed into holes 

 bored in its sides. 

 Bread, cake, doughnut 

 crvimbs, small pieces 

 of suet, and mixed 

 chicken feed cracked 

 fine, were kept 

 beneath the hood, 

 and similar food was 

 placed on the ground 

 log. The feeding sta- 

 tion was only about 



The feeding station described on this page, 

 waiting for junco to finish 



Chickadee 



twenty-five feet from the back door, yet it proved a veritable paradise 

 for the birds, not only during the winter months when the ground 



