Some Observations on Bird Protection in Germany 335 



year thereafter the new shoots are again cut back to within an inch or less of 

 their starting points. The effect of this pruning is to form a very secure founda- 

 tion, or support, on which to place a nest, surrounded during the spring and 

 summer by a dense screen of foliage from the new shoots. That the provison 

 thus made for them is appreciated by the birds was evidenced by the very great 

 number of nests of the year which were found in these w^horls. In a double-row 

 thorn hedge along the edge of a wood, w^hich has been pruned in this fashion, 

 the WTiter counted thirty-one nests in a distance which could not have much 

 exceeded 300 feet, — an average of one nest to every ten feet. The lateness of 

 the hour unfortunately prevented further exploration of this hedge, which 



A GENERAL VIEW OF ONE OE THE SPECIAL 'SHELTERWOOD' BIRD-NESTING PLAN- 

 TATIONS OF SHRUBBERY ON THE BORDER OF A WOOD 



extended for perhaps twice the distance beyond, and was said to be fully as 

 thickly populated throughout. 



With one exception, all these shelterwoods are connected by lines or blocks 

 of trees or shrubs. The line of poplars bordering the brook, and the method 

 of pruning these trees, are described in the book; suffice it to say here that at 

 least one nest was to be found in almost every tree, and in some there were 

 two. On the opposite side of this brook is a row of lindens {Tilia parvifolia), 

 and these trees had been pruned by cutting the branches one foot or more 

 from the trunk, in order to make whorls for nests. Baron von Berlepsch 

 stated that any of the lindens are adapted to this purpose, as well as Ulnius 

 campestris, and that they are particularly suitable for planting in rows to 

 connect shelterwood plantations, and along brooks, roads, etc. Another tree 

 suitable for making connections between the plantations is the Norway 



