15 



As spring opened, the place was looked over to see what 

 nesting sites were available to those birds that prefer to breed 

 in hollow trees. There were practically none. The recent 

 tenant on the place had been allowed to use for fuel such dead 

 wood as he could find. He had availed himself of his oppor- 

 tunities, until hardly a dead tree remained. Having continued 

 this practice for the past two years, I am led to believe that 

 usually it is bad policy. It has resulted in a scarcity of the 

 smaller woodpeckers, which ordinarily hold destructive bark 

 beetles and other wood-boring insects in check. As a probable 

 effect of this scarcity of these useful birds, the Scolytidce and 

 some of the larger borers are now beginning to injure the living 

 trees. The practice of cutting out dead timber also removes 

 the breeding places for wrens, swallows, bluebirds, screech 

 owls, chickadees and other useful birds. No bluebirds, swal- 

 lows or wrens were found breeding on the place. The screech 

 owls and flickers were driven to take refuge in the summer 

 cottages. It was evident that an attempt should be made to 

 bring back such birds as w r ould accept artificial substitutes for 

 their natural breeding places in trees. 



Early in March, 1901, a number of bird boxes were put up 

 on the trees about the borders of the woods. These were pur- 

 posely made of old, weather-beaten lumber, 

 and were inexpensive, four of the shingles re- 

 moved when shingling the barn and a bottom 

 and top piece of boards completing each box, 

 as shown in Fig. 1. Bird boxes put up in this 

 locality should face to the south or west. If 

 placed thus and on the south or west side of 

 a building or tree trunk, they are not so much 

 exposed to the cold storms which so often occur 

 in early spring; but they should be put in shady 

 situations. The hole should be placed near 

 the top, and for a wren should not be over 

 seven-eighths of an inch in diameter (Fig. 2), 

 and the one and one-half-inch size will do for 

 the bluebirds and tree swallows. The seven-eighths-inch hole 

 will certainly exclude English sparrows from wren boxes, and, 

 if there is no perch connected with the box, it will be diffi- 



FIG. 1. Shingle 

 Box. 



