192 



Bird - Lore 



deep, made of galvanized iron. Back of 

 the stones we drove a cedar post, leaving 

 the post about six or eight inches above 

 the bathing-tank. On this post we have 

 a galvanized tank which holds three pails 

 of water. This tank has an opening on 

 one side near the bottom, so that the 

 water drips from it into the bathing-tank 

 below; this drip can be regulated to run 

 fast or slow, according to the weather, as 



•^^ 



A SUCCESSFUL BIRD'S BATH 



on hot days the birds use the tank more, 

 and the drip can be arranged so that the 

 lower tank is kept full. We usually fill 

 the tank in the morning and put in an 

 extra pail at noon, so the water is kept 

 fresh all day. This is all the attention 

 necessary. We have a cover on the larger 

 tank, as the water keeps cooler. 



The birds certainly like the arrange- 

 ment, as it is used all day long. Very 

 often there will be four or five birds 



bathing at once, and others waiting their 

 turn. 



The tank is in a shady corner of the 

 lawn about thirty feet from the house. 

 The shrubbery near the tank is a mixture 

 of wild roses, elderberry, wild crab, cherry, 

 and hawthorn trees. On the other side 

 of the tank is a large bed of perennial 

 phlox. 



It is altogether the most interesting 

 part of our yard, and we feel 

 very well paid for the work 

 and small expense we have 

 been to in building it. — 

 Henry P. Severson, Winne- 

 conne, Wise. 



Bird-Houses and Lunch- 

 Boxes 



In housing and feeding our 

 little feathered friends, we 

 have had considerable an- 

 noyance from other birds 

 which we do not care to pro- 

 vide for. Our Bluebird boxes 

 have had no lack of renters, 

 and several broods have been 

 reared successfully in the last 

 three or four years. We place 

 them on posts of our garden 

 fence, about eight or ten feet 

 high, for we have discovered 

 tha the English Sparrow does 

 not claim nests that are so 

 low, and we manage to pro- 

 tect from prowling cats by 

 covering the hollow limb of 

 the tree which forms the house 

 with tin sheeting for two or 

 three feet above the top of the 

 fence-post, and weaving together a num- 

 ber of slender osage branches around the 

 base of the house. The cats do not ven- 

 ture to climb over this thorny barrier, 

 and, if they should, the tin sheeting pre- 

 vents nearer approach to the little home. 

 For lunch-boxes we take the small, 

 square boxes which gardeners use for 

 berries, line them with thin cloth to pre- 

 vent the food from falling out, tie stout 

 cords to the four corners and unite them 



