24 



Fig. 26. — Martin house. 



expensive house against all comers except the English sparrow or 

 the starling. The martin is a large, handsome swallow with 



pleasant, cheerful notes, 

 and is very destructive 

 to insect pests. Martins 

 formerly were abundant 

 locally in Massachusetts, 

 but after the introduction 

 of the English sparrow 

 the number of martins 

 and the localities fre- 

 quented by them dimin- 

 ished rapidly until 1904, 

 when cold June storms 

 nearly exterminated the 

 species in Massachusetts. 

 Since then their numbers have increased very slowly, as few 

 people now put up martin houses, and English sparrows or 

 other birds keep the martins from settling in some 

 of those that have been erected. Martins, unlike 

 most native hole-nesting birds, prefer to nest in 

 large colonies. Hence martin houses usually are 

 made with many compartments. The Indians 

 hung many hollowed gourds for the martins on 

 the poles of their wigwams or on some dead tree 

 near by. Some of the southern people still use 

 gourds to attract martins. Often several gourds 

 are hung from a crosspiece on a tall pole (Fig. 27), 

 and these collections of gourds are popular with 

 the martins. Only the larger gourds should be 

 used for them. If a round entrance hole is made 

 it should be about 2| inches in diameter, as the 

 martin likes to have the entrance large enough to 

 admit the light as he enters. 



Poles for martins should be at least 10 or 12 feet 

 high. Such poles are sufficient if placed in quiet 

 places, not too near trees or dwellings, or where 

 noisy, quick-moving children or dogs are at play; but if there 

 is much noise and disturbance, a pole 20 feet or more in height 



/i^ 



iu 



Fig. 27. — Gourds 

 for martins. 



