38o 



Junior Naturalist Monthly. 



will be able to have them in the school yard where they will remain from 

 year to year. This will give the children who come to the building from 

 time to time an opportunity to study their ways and become familiar 

 with their lives. I shall tell you how we are planning to do this in one 

 school in New York State. 



In the city of Ithaca there is a school building situated on a hillside. 

 In this school there are about two hundred young persons wdiom I 

 have often noticed in the yard at recess time and before the opening 

 of school. It occurred to me that they might like to have some 

 pigeons for playmates and when I consulted them, they were pleased 

 with the prospect. 



Fig. 2. — Cccropia moth. 



In preparation for these little neighbors, we are going to ask the 

 girls and boys to make a pigeon house, because it is a good thing for 

 children to learn to use tools and provide comfortable houses for their 

 pets. The pupils in this school have made bird houses, so I do not think 

 they will find it difficult to make a pigeon house. We shall have the 

 floor space eighteen inches square, the height fifteen inches, and the door- 

 way six inches high. For pigeons there must be a platform in front of 

 the door. The pigeon house may be painted, for these birds do not mind 

 the paint which wild birds frequently object to. The house should be 

 placed on a building, if possible. 



Boys and girls may find it somewhat difficult to keep the surround- 

 ings of the pigeon house clean, but I am sure they will willingly do it for 

 the privilege of having these pets. During this month I wish you would 

 try to get the house made and put in the school yard. Next month we 

 shall tell you how to feed your pigeons and how to take care of them, 

 giving some suggestions for observation which will interest boys and girls. 



