OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 323 



Hollow trees, ivy-vines, boxes, eaves of buildings, 

 and outbuilding's, are appropriated for roosting 

 purposes during the continuance of the cold 

 weather. 



An incident which was related to us by a friend 

 cannot be out of place in this connection. Having 

 erected a house with several capacious apartments 

 for the accommodation of the sparrows which 

 were frequent visitors to his warden, he was sur- 

 prised to find that they could not be induced to 

 take possession, although the house was built 

 long before the breeding season commenced. 

 Unable to offer anything like a satisfactory solu- 

 tion of the problem, he applied to us. After a 

 little conversation and the propounding of a few 

 questions upon our part, we elicited a number of 

 facts which enabled us to solve the problem, 

 when coupled with others of our own finding. To 

 make a long story short, several attempts had 

 been made by different pairs to build in the house, 

 but which had finally to be abandoned owing to 

 inimical relations which sprung up between the 

 different families. Other pairs had undertaken 

 the business with no better success. Now expe- 

 rience has taught us the fact where houses or 

 vines are occupied by near relations, but few dif- 

 ficulties of not more than passing moment, occur; 

 but, on the contrary, where the kin of different 

 families, like different clans, come together, there 

 is more or less of jangling and quarrelling. ' In 

 view of the foregoing facts we think we are safe 



