32 



Houses to Let. 



charmed circle! How they strive to attract 

 them with crumbs! How their eyes wander 

 to the "houses to let." What trepidation 

 if a bird alights near one! What crowning 

 joy when at last a pair of bluebirds, or mar- 



Tig 1 



tins, or wrens, take possession and begin 

 building! What a delightful calm follows 

 excitement, as hope resolves itself into 

 fruition, suspense into realization! 



For years past these little birds' houses 

 have been a feature of country and subur- 

 ban life "o'er all the pleasant land," and 

 now that Audubon Societies have sprung up 

 and are spreading in every village and ham- 

 let, and developing a healthier sentiment 

 among those who erstwhile cared not for 

 these things, we may confidently look for a 

 considerable extension of the custom. We 

 want to guide the way, too, to a more taste- 

 ful style of architecture in birds' houses. 

 Those in general use are well enough as 

 means to a desired end, but oftener than not 

 they are unsightly. There is no need for 

 this; tasteful birds' houses may be designed 

 of very simple material. Here is one con- 

 structed of a flower-pot, secured to the wall, 

 which without further adornment does ad- 

 mirably for a wall covered with creepers. 

 The simplest method of making them, says 

 our artist, is to fasten a 5-in. pot against a 

 stone or brick wall. The drain hole of the 

 pot is enlarged by chipping off a small piece 



at a time with the sharp ferrule end of a file, 

 but to do this successfully the pot must be 

 soaked in water for three hours to soften 

 the ware. Do not try to make the hole ex- 

 actly symmetrical, but have its outline irreg- 

 ular. Two small holes are also chipped in 

 the sides of the pot, one of the diameter of 

 one-half inch; this hole when the pot is in 

 position is to answer as a window to admit 

 a small quantity of light into the interior of 

 the pot; the other hole, on the under side 

 of the pot, is to be but one-quarter of an 

 inch in diameter, and is for the purpose of 

 admitting a current of fresh air. When it 

 is placed in position the pot is held against 

 the wall to which it is to be fastened by 

 leaning a post or board against it. For a 

 cement for fastening and ornamenting the 

 pot, plaster of Paris is to be preferred to 

 Portland or other cements, the plaster being 

 light and quick setting, which is hastened 

 by adding a small quantity of salt when 

 mixing it. Another advantage the plaster 



possesses is that it is a non-conductor of 

 heat, so that all danger of the interior of the 

 bird house becoming over-heated is re- 



