No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE ORNITHOLOGIST. 187 



Mr. E. H. FoRBUSH. 



Dear Sir : — I have read for the third time your Nature Leaflet 

 No. 12, from the State Board of Agriculture, and have put into 

 practice some of its suggestions. Have tied in three places on trees 

 large ham bones, nailed a large box about 8 feet up on the side of 

 a tree, and filled it with gravel and fine sand; then spread large 

 patches of hayseed around the yard and put on the clothesline posts 

 a box filled with grain, and a firkin cover on the ground with more 

 grain, and a dish of water. We have been highly entertained by 

 the birds that have come to the feast. Six blue jays came, beauties, 

 and the way they would strike their bills into that suet and hop 

 in and out of that box was pleasing; a meadow lark was here 

 again this a.m., fat and lively; and a flicker, going all over a large 

 elm and getting his fill of something to his liking; a chickadee, 

 as lively as a cricket, snatching pieces of suet and flying off, only 

 to return for another bit; a downy woodjiecker, going all over the 

 lower part of the apjDle tree and taking his piece of suet when he 

 needs it, and about 50 juncos and tree sparrows, here all day long, 

 at one or the other of the feeds we put out for them. Mrs. Pedrick 

 pounded up some crackers and put that out for them, and they 

 ate that up clean ; and, last, the old crow has come to have a little 

 suet, but there is a fleld of sweet corn .in shock near us and about 

 10 have had a feast there, so we make him keep off. Well, we have 

 been kei^t busy watching all these visitors, and they have paid us 

 for all our work and made us forget the snow and drear of winter, 

 and it makes us think of spring and the singing of birds and the 

 music of the brooks free from winter's grip. 



I was going to make some houses for the birds, but I have mis- 

 laid the book from the State Board that had directions about them. 

 We have Chapman's " Bird Life " and we think it fine, and spend 

 many hours studying about the birds, for we are lovers of all animals 

 and rarely kill even a snake. My belief is that they pay for their 

 keep a good many times over. We have a number of deer around 

 here and lots of pheasants, but they are very shy and keep to the 

 woods mostly. We have a nice pair of Lemaire field glasses, so 

 that we are able to see all these friends very clearly. 



Thinking you would like to know how some of your suggestions 

 work out, I was tempted to write you these facts. 



Very kindly yours, 



George M. Pedrick. 



Jan. 19, 1912. 



