THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 



391 



sawed from the ends of the stick, will make the top and bot- 

 tom. These must be reduced in size by a shave until the 

 bark can be lapped fully half an inch at the incision on the 

 back. Now tack the bark to the bottom and top. Such a 

 box may be put up by nailing or screwing a short stick or 

 pole over the lap on the back, which stick can 

 in turn be nailed or screwed to the support. 

 To make the roof watertight, a piece of thin, 

 green bark from a young pine may be put on 

 and tacked down over the edges. It will fit 

 like soft leather, and make a neat appearance ; 

 but experience has shown that it will not long 

 resist the effect of sun and rain. A more per- 

 manent covering may be made by using a piece 

 of tin or zinc, as shown in the figure of the 

 chestnut bark box (Plate XL VII, Fig. 6); or 

 a roof may be made of birch bark, as shown in 

 Plate XL VII, Fig. 2. To make the expected 

 nest accessible to examination, the top of the 

 bark sides might be fastened to a hoop, and 

 the whole capped by a tin or wooden cover, like that of a 

 lard pail or a berry box. The best support is a slim pole. 



Serviceable dwellings for birds may be made of the shells 

 of gourds. Seedsmen advertise the seed, and any one can 

 grow gourds. Squashes, even, may be utilized. The hard- 

 shelled, old-fashioned winter crook-neck would make a stout 

 castle for a Bluebird or a Martin. 



Four old shingles and two pieces of old board will make 

 a box like that shown in Fig. 167. This may be nailed up 

 in a tall tree near the house, or on a building. It must be 

 out of reach of cats, or the young are likely to be clawed out 

 of the hole by these stealthy marauders. To checkmate the 

 cat, a much deeper box may be made, with a small, high- 

 placed round hole for the entrance, and a sloping, overhang- 

 ing roof, which helps to keep out both water and cats. (See 

 Plate XL VII, Fig. 4.) There is another advantage in a 

 box of this pattern. The young birds find it rather hard to 

 get out of such a box at first. They have to make many 

 attempts, and when they finally escape they are quite strong 



Fig. 166. -Birch- 

 bark nesting box, 

 for Chickadees. 



