386 



USEFUL BIRDS. 



a shallow floating basin, provided with a wide wooden rim 

 to keep it afloat, may be used. 



There are usually springs or brooks about the farm, where 

 birds can drink or bathe ; but too often the long o^rass or 



low bushes about these 

 drinking places conceal 

 the crafty cat, which lies 

 in wait to catch birds 

 when their feathers are 

 wet from bathing. A 

 fountain on the closely 

 cropped lawn, like the 

 one designed by Mr. 

 Chapman, is admirable 

 if cats can be kept from 

 it. 



When the cherry 

 trees are in blossom 

 the Hummingbirds 

 come. There should 

 be a succession of 

 nectar-bearing' flowers 

 in the garden, to at- 

 tract them. The gla- 

 diolus, honeysuckle, and bee balm are favorite flowers, but 

 many others lure the Hummingbirds. 



Providing Nesting Places about Buildings. 



When the tide of bird life begins to turn northward in the 

 spring, and before farm work becomes pressing, we should 

 see that plenty of suitable nesting places are provided about 

 our buildings for the birds, and that there is an abundant 

 supply of nesting material with which they can construct 

 their homes. 



Birds, like men, are largely controlled by circumstances. 

 The presence or absence of a nesting place may decide a pair 

 of birds for or against the acceptance of a certain locality as 

 a place of residence. 



In the rough buildings of our grandftithers there were 



Fig. 163. — Mr. Chapman's bird bath. (From 

 Bird-Lore.) 



