Popular Science Monthly 



589 



birds on the piace. But during the winter 

 most of the species migrated. He then 

 began to experiment to see how many he 

 could induce to remain all the year round. 



He built a few bird houses around, the 

 place, gradually increasing the number 

 each year. He also built a number of bird 

 baths. The rustic bird houses, which are 

 preferred by the birds, he made of wood 

 with the bark on. 



It was not long until the number and 

 species of birds about the place increased 

 amazingly. What was equally important, 

 main- which had been regarded as migratory 

 remained the year round. Last winter he 

 induced such birds to stay as the chickadee, 



A wren house with a suet basket 

 underneath. Note the windows 

 and blinds of the house 



Birds like suet. To prevent the 

 larger ones from getting it all, 

 screened suet boxes are used 



white-breasted nuthatch, downy wood- 

 pecker, brown creeper, cardinal, blue jay, 

 hairy woodpecker, white-throated sparrow, 

 pine siskin, fox sparrow, white-crowned 

 sparrow, goldfinch, tohee, robin and other 

 species. 



The work of feeding the birds has re- 

 sulted in the construction of a special 

 design of food box to hold suet. Mr. 

 White discovered that when suet was placed 

 on the ground or limbs of trees without 

 protection the bigger birds crowded out the 

 smaller and weaker ones and took possession 

 of the entire supply. In order to prevent 

 this the box now used was constructed. 



It consists of a curved piece of steel that 

 protects the bark of the tree upon which it 

 is hung. The front is covered with a strong 

 wire net that is sufficiently coarse to admit 

 the bills of the hungry birds, but too fine 

 to allow them to remove all of the suet 

 supply at once. 



A fresh water bath, according to Mr. 

 White, is the best thing on earth to attract 

 birds. Some of his baths are on stands 

 and some are built in the ground. These 

 baths, he says, have undoubtedly drawn 

 more birds to his place than all the food 

 he has ffered them. He soon found that 

 some species of birds are afraid of the 

 ground baths, but will bathe in those that 

 are raised, and vice versa. 



