A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



houses must be arranged two feet apart all 

 around the walls, about three feet from the 

 floor. Put up two or three roosts in the 

 middle of the floor. Whitewash everything 

 thoroughly, and, when dry, put an earthen 

 nest in each compartment. They cost a 

 dollar a dozen, and are better than any con- 

 trivance, because they are so easily kept clean. 

 Cover the floor with gravel. Have a good 

 drinking fountain, into which the birds can 

 get nothing but their bills. Add a pan 

 about two feet square and four inches deep 

 as a bath-tub, to be used in the house in win- 

 ter, and in the yard in summer. A bundle 

 of hay and straw is advisable; some homers 

 are ambitious and like to make their own 

 nests. Have the ground in their yard 

 ploughed or dug up, fix a few general 

 perches, and all is complete. 



You may ask, "Why not fix up the loft 

 over the stable?" Simply because that 

 would necessitate such a high yard that it 

 would cost more than the small house, and 



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