viii A PREFATORY NOTE 



interest on the part of the public, there has appeared an 

 increased desire to have birds come about the home in 

 greater numbers. People are wanting more robins on the 

 lawn, more wrens in the garden, and more bluebirds, 

 thrashers, and woodpeckers in the neighbourhood. 



To encourage the birds to become more familiar thou- 

 sands of persons in every State are now erecting nesting- 

 boxes for the birds in spring and providing food for them 

 in winter. Others favourably situated for larger experi- 

 ments wish to engage in the rearing of wild ducks, or of 

 quails, grouse, pheasants, and other upland game-birds. 



I recall that less than ten years ago I spent much time in 

 an effort to induce a certain man to begin the manufacture 

 and sale of nesting-boxes for birds and similar apparatus, 

 with the view of supplying a demand which I felt was 

 certain to come. It was with very great difficulty that he 

 was induced to go into this business. To-day there are 

 more than twenty well-known manufacturers of bird-boxes 

 and other bird-attracting apparatus in the eastern part of 

 the United States alone. 



It has not been a great many years since an estate on 

 which pheasants and wild ducks were reared was a curiosity 

 and occasioned much local comment. To-day hundreds of 

 persons are engaging in this pleasant and profitable occu- 

 pation. Naturally much well-meant effort in this direction 

 has been ill-directed; and it has become evident that there 

 is great need of some one highly skilled in the matter of 

 artificial propagation of birds to give counsel to those de- 

 siring to undertake an enterprise of this character. 



It was to meet this demand and provide expert advice 

 for those desiring to begin the raising of game-birds, or to 

 make bird-sanctuaries of their groves and fields, that I 

 arranged for the National Association of Audubon Societies 



