ATTRACTING THE WINTER BIRDS 103 



that only hemp-seed be used in this, which Baron 

 von Berlepsch considers is one of the best foods 

 for seed-eating birds. In order first to attract 

 the attention of the birds to this, two small nets 

 filled with nuts or other food are hung from the 

 inside of the bell, one projecting below the bell 

 and one hanging just above the food-dish. One 

 especially valuable feature about this is that it is 

 generally avoided by sparrows. 



Difficulties 



The same two difficulties confront us here as 

 in providing nesting-houses, the cat and the Eng- 

 lish sparrow. The birds may be easily protected 

 from cats, by wrapping a piece of tin or zinc 

 around the tree below the food ; by putting the 

 window-shelf at a second-story window; or by 

 suspending the counter from a wire as explained 

 on page 94. 



English Sparrow. The sparrow problem, 

 however, is not so easily solved. In one way the 

 difficulty is not so acute as with the nesting- 

 houses, where two birds cannot occupy the same 

 apartment ; for it is possible to furnish food for 

 both the sparrows and other birds, but as a mat- 

 ter of fact experience shows that, where the 

 sparrows congregate in large flocks, as is their- 

 custom, the other birds keep away. 



