The Birds and Poets 203 



have been adopted the interest of the school chil- 

 dren has often been enlisted, and the larger boys 

 engaged to assist in maintaining the feeding 

 grounds. The usual plan is to clear away the 

 snow from a patch of ground fifteen or twenty 

 feet square, and then scatter seeds, nuts, suet and 

 scraps and crumbs from the table. The ground 

 should, of course, be kept clear of snow, and the 

 supply of food should be replenished daily. A 

 number of such feeding places should be main- 

 tained at reasonable distances apart, adjacent to 

 the town or village, and when this general com- 

 munity plan is supplemented by the maintenance 

 of individual feeding stands at the homes in the 

 neighborhood, the increase in the number of 

 winter birds will be gratifying. 



In this way many good people living in this 

 latitude, believing that there are no birds in winter 

 except the English sparrows, have come to know 

 that while the birds are mostly silent and in seclu- 

 sion, there are a number of varieties which are 

 common residents. 



Although this general community plan of feed- 

 ing the birds may not always be feasible, there 

 is no reasonable excuse to be offered for any real 

 lover of the birds who wholly forgets them in 

 winter and does not provide a feeding box or tray 

 near his home. A rough box, open at one side, 

 set above the ground, out of the reach of cats, at 

 a short distance from the house, is all that is 

 necessary. After the birds find the food and 



