246 FLOWER GARDENING 



it where there is shade. The water must either be 

 very shallow or be made so in places by the use of 

 stones ; garden birds bathe, they do not swim. 



Hedges, especially untrimmed ones, and all 

 shrubbery in the form of thickets appeal strongly 

 to birds. To them birds can run or fly to cover, 

 they are good for nesting and roosting purposes 

 and the ground beneath is just the place for scratch- 

 ing. Wherever circumstances permit, it is an ex- 

 cellent plan to create thickets as bird coverts ; the 

 company of the songsters, let alone the destruction 

 of insect pests, will pay for the trouble over and 

 over again. 



What birds are willing to do, even without the 

 allurement of water, is easily proven by what they 

 did in one instance. Either within a few feet of 

 the garden or in a tree just above it the starling, 

 purple grackle, song sparrow, English sparrow, 

 chipping sparrow, robin, bluebird, English gros- 

 beak, yellow hammer and screech owl have all 

 nested at one time or another in a space of less than 

 six years. Adding the mere callers, the bird guests 

 have exceeded thirty and this where conditions 

 are suburban rather than rural. 



