10 



Fig. 4 — Slab box. 



January-February, 1905, I described the method of making 

 bark boxes, but at that time they were untried. They have 

 been used since with satisfactory results. The 

 credit of their invention belongs to Mr. William 

 Brewster, and I have made a considerable num- 

 ber after his design. Canoe birch and chestnut 

 were used, as it was believed that the bark of 

 these trees would be most durable, but Mr. 

 Brewster suggests that elm bark is probably 

 best of all.^ Those portions of the trunks used 

 were from 4 to 8 inches in diameter. The boxes were made in 

 summer, as the bark will not usually peel freely much earlier 

 than June 20, and then only for a short time. 

 When the tree had been cut down, the trunk was 

 sawed into sections each from 10 to 18 inches 

 long, according to the size of the boxes desired. 

 Only straight sections, free from knots or branches, 

 were used. A limb of the right size, however, may, 

 when cut off, leave a hole in the bark that can be 

 utilized as an entrance for the birds. 



These domiciles may be made as follows: an 

 incision, through both outer and inner bark, is fig. 5. — Chestnut 



bark box. 



made on the side intended for the back of the 

 box, from the top to the bottom of each section; then, on the 

 opposite side, 2 inches from the top, there is bored through the 

 bark, with an auger or extension bit, a hole of the 

 size desired for the entrance. If such tools are not 

 at hand the aperture may be cut with a gouge, a 

 chisel or even a knife. Next, a wedge-shaped stick 

 is inserted into the incision at the back and under 

 the inner bark, to start it off, and with this im- 

 plement it is peeled very carefully. In peeling 

 birch one should be careful not to separate the 

 inner and outer layers of the bark. Caution should 

 Birch- be used when working about knots or rough places. 

 The bark will make the sides of the box, and 

 two sections, each an inch thick, sawed from the ends of the 

 barked log, will make the top and bottom. Now the bark is 



Fig. 6. 



bark box. 



1 The bark of the common gray or so-called " white " birch is not very durable, but that of the 

 northern white or canoe birch is more satisfactory. 



