No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE ORNITHOLOGIST. 201 



flickers, a pair of cardinals, 12 song sparrows, 1 field sparrow, 

 2 white-throated sparrows, a liock of j uncos, and GO mourning 

 doves. He also saw, a few days later, 37 nuthatches and 22 

 chickadees; and during Christmas week 27 species and 423 

 .individual birds were observed. This is only the beginning 

 of Mr. Ford's work. About 5,000 shrubs have been set out 

 along the river bank, and when these begin to bear fruit 

 undoubtedly they will increase the bird population. Mr. 

 Ford's secretary, Mr. E, J. Siebold, wrote me on May 11, 

 1912, that greater numbers of birds than ever were noticed 

 this spring, and that each year they seemed to increase. Mr. 

 Ford, in his movement to protect the w^ild-bird life on his 

 acres, has set a commendable example to landouaiers every- 

 where. 



ISTew methods and new appliances for attracting birds are 

 coming constantly to notice, but most of them are adapta- 

 tions of old methods or appliances long in use. Recently 

 many people have begun trials of certain contrivances for 

 feeding birds that have been invented by the Baron von 

 Berlepsch in Thuringia or modified from his inventions. 

 In some cases these have succeeded admirably, but for gen- 

 eral use those which are provided with a hopper, letting 

 down the food gradually, are most likely to be successful. 



The von Berlepsch nesting boxes which have been remark- 

 ably successful in Europe have not been found indispensable 

 in this country, Mr. William Brewster, who has experi- 

 mented with them, finds them heavy and unwieldy and not 

 so often occupied by birds as arc some of the boxes of his 

 own make which he has put up. Some of these are rectangu- 

 lar wooden nesting boxes, both painted and unpainted, some 

 are cylindrical boxes made of bark to imitate a section of a 

 tree trunk, and others are made from bark-covered slabs. 



One of the most successful recent attempts to colonize 

 birds is that of Mr. George E. Hoxsie of Canonchet, R. I., 

 who is using rectangular boxes and bird houses. The number 

 of white-breasted swallows that have nested with him is re- 

 markable. The following quotation from Mr. Hoxsie's letter 

 shows how successful he has been in attracting birds : — 



