74 



These three essential conditions cannot be carried out by any of the 

 old methods of feeding, and the only modern ones which fulfil these 

 conditions are those which make use of the appliances which Baron 

 von Berlepsch has constructed namely, the " Food-tree," the 

 "Food-house" (called the Hessian Food-house, because it was first 

 used in Cassel), and the " Food-bell." All who know anything about 

 the matter must agree with this statement. 



The new apparatus mentioned on pp. 85-89 are to a certain extent 

 only variations of the old ones. 



(A) The " Food-tree." 



This is the most natural of the appliances. I mention it first 

 therefore in order to point out once more that all Berlepsch arrange- 

 ments are based on careful observation of Nature. 



The "food- tree" imitates a coniferous tree closely covered with 

 insects' eggs and larvce, so that the hand of man has fashioned what 

 Nature fortunately provides only in exceptional cases when there is a 

 plague of insects. 



All kinds of coniferous trees, especially firs, or else separate branches, 

 can be used to form these " food-trees." Attention must be drawn to 

 the fact that living trees lose their leaves when hot fluids are poured 

 on them, look ugly, and easily become diseased. They should therefore 

 be chiefly used in woods > while in other places in parks, plantations, 

 farmyards, gardens, etc. felled trees should be used, which can be 

 purchased at a low price. 



Trees that have been used as Christmas trees in hot rooms are 

 not very suitable, as they soon lose their leaves. 



On one of these trees a mixture of food is poured, which, as it is to 

 serve for insectivorous as well as graminivorous birds, should be pre- 

 pared from the following recipe : oz. 

 White bread (dried and ground) . . . . . . 4| 



Meat (dried and ground) . . . . . . 3 



Hemp . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 



Crushed hemp . . . . . . . . 3 



Maw . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 



Poppy flour . . . , . . . . . . 1J 



Millet (white) 3 



