124 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



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 Scolr/tidae 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, 

 swallows or wrens were found breed- 

 ing on the place. The screech owls 

 and flickers were driven to take refuge 

 in the summer cottages. It was evi- 

 dent that an attempt should be made 

 to bring back such birds as would 

 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 purposely made of old, weather- 

 beaten lumber, and were inexpensive, 

 four of the shingles removed when 

 shin£>;lino; 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 ^vcst. If |)laced 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 

 cool and shady situations, if intended for wrens. The 

 hole should be placed near the top, and should not be 

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

 seven-eightlis-inch hole is large enougli for wrens or swal- 

 lows, and the one-inch size will do for the bluebirds. The 

 seven-eighths-inch hole will certainly exclude English spar- 

 rows, and, if there is no })erch connected with the box, they 



Fig. 1. — Shingle Box. 



