532 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



It is probable that in spite of all these agencies the smaller 

 birds can maintain their numbers outside of the immediate 

 influence of the cities. But the question still remains, what 

 shall we do to help the few species that are evidently dimin- 

 ishing under protection ? 



Of these species, the purple martin is now at the lowest 

 ebb in point of numbers, and most needs such assistance as 

 we may be able to give it in re-establishing itself. I have 

 learned by a voluminous correspondence that many of the 

 empty bird-houses were visited either in spring or fall by 

 migrating martins. In this correspondence one significant 

 fact appeared. Very few people had taken the trouble to 

 clean out the martin-boxes, and remove the old nests, rub- 

 bish and dead birds. Mr. Fred B. Pike of Cornish, Me., 

 writes that many of the bird-houses in that region were 

 " full of dead birds from last year's storm," and the martins 

 did not go into them to breed ; but in his bird-house, in 

 which there were no dead birds, the martins bred as usual. 

 Mr. Herbert Moulton, Hiram, Me., writes that he took his 

 bird-house down in the spring (1904) and cleaned it out, 

 finding five or six dead birds in some of the rooms. He 

 then put the house on a pole thirty-five feet high, and it was 

 occupied by twelve birds, among which were three females, 

 which raised large broods, thus re-establishing the colony. 

 Not one of the other bird-houses in the vicinity was occu- 

 pied. If every one owning a martin-box would clean it out 

 annually before the last week in April, the chances of the 

 birds' re-establishing themselves might be bettered. The 

 English sparrows must be kept out of the houses, for when 

 they once get the rooms filled with their bulky nests and 

 pugnacious bodies, the few martins now left will have little 

 chance for a home. 



Mrs. Mary R. Stanley writes from North Attleborough of 

 a plan which she thinks will keep out English sparrows from 

 martin-boxes. She speaks of some old dwelling houses 

 where holes underneath the jet were made, affording the 

 birds access to the space under the eaves. These, she says, 

 were used by martins, and have never been used by the 

 sparrows. She suggests making martin-boxes with all the 



