TRENTON'S BIRD-HOUSE BUILDING CONTEST 



BY M. M. BURRIS 



CITY FORESTER, TRENTON, N. J. 



BELIEVING in preventive medicine, and knowing 

 that our native insectiverous birds are a strong 

 factor in the suppression of insects attacking our 

 trees I urged a campaign for the starting of the bird-house 

 building contest. 



Park Commissioner Burk was very interested in this 

 campaign and was willing to offer prizes for the best 

 bird-houses. We enlisted the services of Mr. W. R. 

 Ward, director of Manual Training of Public Schools, 

 and our plans for a lively campaign were soon formulated. 



It was decided to open the contest to the boys of the 

 fifth, sixth and seventh grades. The following announce- 

 ment was sent out to the schools : 



i. Every bird-house must be suitable for one or 

 another of the following birds: Bluebird, robin, chicka- 



prizes. We were successful in instilling civic patriotism 

 into the hearts of about a thousand anxious boys who 

 were soon ready to start with their saws and hammers. 



But before they started, they were told that these bird- 

 houses were to be built from scrap or waste lumber, 

 boxes, branches, logs, or anything which could be used. 



The boys responded good and strong. About a thou- 

 sand boys started in the contest. Soap boxes, tin cans, 

 scrap lumber, buckets, funnels, flower pots, logs, bark 

 and every other conceivable material which could be 

 worked into a bird-house were brought into the manual 

 training rooms. The boys were busily engaged studying 

 plans of bird-houses which we had prepared for them, 

 and they soon flocked to the Public Library in search 

 of information regarding birds and bird-houses. They 



PROUD TO POSE FOR THEIR PICTURES 

 This picture shows some of the boys who took part in the contest and the bird houses they built, standing in front of the Municipal Building. 



dee, white breasted nuthatch, house wren, martin, song 

 sparrow, phcebe, red-headed woodpecker and sparrow 

 hawk. 



2. Only boys in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades in 

 school may enter the contest. 



3. All bird-houses must be well constructed and 

 properly painted or otherwise covered to protect them 

 from the weather. 



4. The contest closes April 1, 1918. 



5. All bird-houses are to be given to the City of 

 Trenton to be placed in the various parks. 



The boys were told that by entering the contest they 

 would have lots of fun, learn something about birds, 

 help to attract the birds to our city, and might win a 

 prize. Very little emphasis, however, was laid on the 



were told to be original and not to copy each other's 

 designs. They were given the necessary data for the 

 design of the house for whatever bird they were going 

 to construct it, but the details were left for them to 

 decide upon. 



The boys were soon busily engaged with their tools 

 all of them interested, heart and soul in this project. And 

 when the contest closed about twelve hundred bird-houses 

 were completed. A display of unexpected skill in design 

 and construction. Indeed, they were truly the work of 

 craftsmen. 



They were proud of their work and they were granted 

 the privilege of a parade. How proud they were as 

 they marched to the City Hall, each boy carrying his own 

 bird-house. Some of the bird-houses were so large that 



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