SECTION IV 



PROTECTING SONG BIRDS AND ATTRACTING THEM 

 TO OUR HOMES 



CHAPTER I 



BY FURNISHING THEM TREES, VINES, AND SHRUBS 



What to Plant. Species that grow wild in your 

 vicinity are likely to thrive best and attract the greatest 

 number of birds. None but perfectly hardy species 

 should be selected. Just what you want will depend 

 on your intentions and on the space and locality you 

 have at your disposal. As it would be impossible to 

 give detailed directions suitable for all parts of the 

 country, I must refer those looking for more specific 

 directions to reliable nursery men, to the Agricultural 

 Experiment stations, to superintendents of city parks, 

 and to the publications of the United States Forestry 

 Division, Washington, D.C. Cottonwoods and wil- 

 lows are among the poorest trees for attracting birds. 

 Nearly all prairie groves should have much more 

 underbrush, for which almost any shade-enduring 

 shrub, bush, or vine would answer. A grove of mixed 

 trees attracts more birds than a grove consisting of 

 one kind only. 1 



1 On the food of birds see Farmers' Bulletin No. 54. See Merriam, 

 " Birds of Village and Field," on planting of shrubbery to protect cul- 

 tivated fruit from birds. Pages xxiii-xxviii. 



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