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sparrow, chewink, cedar waxwing, black- 
and-white warbler, Nashville warbler, 
myrtle warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, 
catbird, brown thrasher, hermit thrush, 
robin and bluebird. Probably there 
have been many more which we have 
not observed. 
The arrangement of steps, 
interesting, is by no means necessary. 
A bath about three feet long, two feet 
wide and three inches deep, with a con- 
tinuously sloping and roughened bottom, 
starting at one end half an inch from 
the top and ending at the other at its 
lowest point, would probably answer 
the purpose just as well. Speaking of 
the roughened bottom, reminds me that 
almost if not quite as important as the 
depth of water, is the character of the 
footing on the bottom. This should 
never be slippery, for birds lose confi- 
dence when they find they cannot keep 
their feet. A layer of coarse sand or 
fine pebbles will usually give the de- 
sired “footing” in a bird bath, and a 
slippery pan or dish can be rendered 
safe by placing in it a freshly-cut sod, 
having about half an inch of the grass 
submerged. This makes a wet spot 
such as many of the small birds are very 
fond of. 
while 
Concrete is very useful for the con- 
struction of pools for the comfort of 
birds; it may be used alone, as in the 
case of a bird bath in my own garden, or 
in connection with natural rock crop- 
ping out above the earth. The former 
was made as follows. I scooped out in 
the lawn an elliptical hollow, four feet 
by three feet six inches, the sides sloping 
down in all directions toward the center 
where the depth was four or five inches. 
I then took some Portland cement and 
some coarse sand and mixed the two, in 
the proportion of one of cement to four 
of sand, adding just enough water to 
give the consistency of common mortar. 
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 
Then with my hand, I plastered the 
surface of the hollow, putting in enough 
to make the depth at the center about 
two and a half inches. I was careful not 
to make the sides too smooth, although 
the concrete itself gives an excellent 
foothold for the birds. We have no 
running water in this; about once a week 
we sweep the water out with a stiff 
broom and put two pails of fresh water 
into it. It has been a complete success, 
and being within ten feet of the house 
we have had great pleasure in watch- 
ing the birds from the windows and from 
the piazzas. We have seen six blue- 
birds — the parents and four young — 
bathing in it at once, and at other times 
there have been whole flocks of song 
sparrows, white-throated sparrows and 
juncos, in addition to the many birds 
that come in smaller numbers. With a 
few shrubs and hardy flowers planted 
about it, such a bath can be made a 
beautiful little feature in any garden. 
And of course there is no reason in the 
world why it should not be made much 
larger if one has plenty of room and 
the time to make it. 
Dr. Ernest L. Huse, president of The 
Meriden Bird Club, has a somewhat 
similar bath in his garden, but he has 
carried the idea a little farther. In the 
center he has sunk a tub, and from the 
rim, which is perhaps two and a half 
inches below the surface of the ground, 
the concrete slants outward and upward 
in all directions, making shallows in 
which the birds will drink and bathe. 
In the tub, pond lilies are planted, and 
spread their leaves and blossoms over 
the surface. Round about, shrubs and 
tall grasses are planted, and here and 
there among them one catches a glimpse 
of little food trays, filled with hemp and 
millet which tend to keep the birds 
about the spot even when the bath is 
over. There is hardly a limit to what 
