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munities from which the birds long ago departed. These 

 letters — hundreds of them — have not, as a rule come from 

 bird lovers whom we should expect to be first to have the 

 welfare of the martins at heart, but from persons who used 

 to see the birds during their childhood. Some of these let- 

 ters are pathetic, the writers imploring me to help them 

 bring back the birds their fathers or their grandfathers 

 used to have in the box at the old homestead. 



A great amount of correspondence, during 1908, scatter- 

 ed throughout the country inhabited by the Purple Martin 

 shows that the birds had good success rearing broods where- 

 ever found, and I wish to predict a spread of the birds next 

 summer. Especially do I believe more will be seen through- 

 out the New England States and New York, where they 

 were almost wiped out in 1903. 



Do not allow the English Sparrow to gain a foothold in 

 your bird house, even if Martins do not come at once. You 

 cannot compromise with the sparrows by allowing them to 

 use one side of the box and save the rest for the Martins. 

 The Sparrow's one strike at a new Martin may cause it to 

 turn its attention in another direction, thus destroying your 

 hopes. 



Attempt to Establish a Martin Colony by Libe= 

 rating Old Birds. 



Year-old birds may be used in an effort to start a colony 

 in new territory, adapted to its habits, by capturing the birds 

 soon after their arrival at their home boxes in the spring, 

 and shipping them to a distant point, there to be liberated. 

 They may not stay and nest in the house intended for them, 

 but it is quite likely they will breed somewhere in the new 

 territory. 



An experiment of this kind was tried last spring, 1908, 

 when May 23, I shipped two mated pairs of immature birds 

 —taken from my colony— to Mr. Wm. C. Horton, Battleboro, 

 Vermont. The birds were somewhat weakened by their 



