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sufficient food for the birds. In severe winter weather the 

 scratching sheds connected with the poultry houses always 

 furnished them a place of refuge. These sheds open toward 

 the south (which side is covered with poultry netting), but are 

 closed on all other sides. The ground in these sheds is some- 

 what deeply covered with litter, in which wheat screenings 

 and small grain are scattered, to give the hens exercise in 

 scratching it out during the day. The fowls are not admitted 

 to these sheds very early on cold or stormy mornings. Two 

 sheds having no curtains, the sparrows invariably occupy 

 them at such times, even if they do not remain through the 

 night. They are protected from hawks and cats by the netting, 

 and they busy themselves in searching and scratching among the 

 litter for weed seeds and the small particles of grain overlooked 

 by the fowls. 



Here and in two open sheds at the barn the winter sparrows 

 can always find food and shelter. The woods and shrubbery 

 around the garden offer the sparrows a refuge to which they 

 can retreat at the least sign of danger. This is an advantage 

 which not all gardens possess. The song sparrow and the 

 junco do not like to go far afield, if they can secure food, as 

 in this case, near cover. The snowflake, on the contrary, seems 

 to prefer open fields and pastures, trusting perhaps to its pro- 

 tective coloring or to its skill in flight, for it rarely stops in the 

 vicinity of the garden. 



During the first winter some little attention had been paid to 

 methods for attracting the insect-feeding winter birds. Animal 

 food, such as bones, suet and dried meat, was hung upon the 

 fruit trees, and attracted some attention from chickadees, jays, 

 nuthatches and woodpeckers. These and the sparrows formed 

 a merry company, which served to attract other birds, so that 

 before the end of the winter most of the commoner land birds 

 found at that season frequented the place. The effects of their 

 presence was noticeable in the scarcity of injurious insects in 

 the spring. The next problem in the sequence of the seasons 

 was to induce members of the spring flight of birds to remain 

 with us to breed. To this end it became necessary to increase 

 the inducements to nest building, and offer material for bird 

 homes. 



