214 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Trees with bark on are not. Cats sometimes quickly climb 

 wooden poles and catch martins by reaching past the lower edge 

 of the house. 



Mr. Jacobs uses a hinged pole for. mounting his larger bird 

 houses, so that they may be taken down easily and cleaned out 

 and housed during winter. 



It would facilitate the handling and cleaning out of martin 

 houses if a door opening to the full width of each compartment 

 could be provided, and then, if bluebirds or tree swallows 

 persisted in occupying it, their nests and young could be re- 

 moved to single boxes, which should be in readiness in the 

 vicinity. 



How TO GET THE MaRTINS. 



The bird house must be erected in a conspicuous place and 

 the English sparrows and starlings kept out. This may be 

 accomplished by the use of a shotgun,^ or the entrances may 

 be kept closed until the martins come, when a few may be 

 opened and the martins may be able to beat o£F the sparrows, 

 but if even one pair of sparrows becomes established in the 

 house, and is allowed to breed, the martins are doomed to 

 eviction sooner or later. They may hold on for a few years, 

 but the sparrows will possess the house in the end. I have 

 never known them to fail. If the martins persist, the sparrows 

 break the eggs or kill the young. 



Screech owls and cats must be watched. Cats catch the 

 male martins when, in fighting, they come to the ground, take 

 both parents when they alight on the ground for nesting ma- 

 terial, and kill many young ones before they are able to fly 

 well. The owls sometimes get the habit of reaching in at night 

 and pulling out young birds. The martins will drive all hawks 

 away. 



The English Sparrow. 



The European house sparrow is the greatest and most 

 ubiquitous enemy of all native birds that nest in bird houses 

 and nesting boxes. The United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, after a long and patient investigation that covered the 

 greater part of North America, decided that it was "a curse of 



' A long-barreled 22 caliber rifle, with extra long shells, smokeless powder and dust shot, is not 

 noisy and ought to be effective at 40 or 50 feet. 



