A Rustic Food-House 



By FREDERIC H. KENNARD 



I 



N Bird-Lore for January-February, 191 2, in 

 an article entitled "My Experience with Von 

 Berlepsch Nest Boxes," there were shown 

 photographs, on pages 3 and 8, of an adaptation of 

 the German food-houses, designed by Baron Von 

 Berlepsch, that has proved successful on my place, 

 and which was later adopted by Ernest Harold 

 Baynes, and used very successfully by him and the 

 Meriden Bird Club, in and about Meriden, New 

 Hampshire. The many inquiries with regard to 

 these food-houses that have been received from bird- 

 loving friends lead me to infer that there may be 

 some of the readers of Bird-Lore who would Uke 

 to build them, and for their benefit I submit the 

 following description and sketch. 



The food-houses should be set up in some suit- 

 able place, preferably in or near shrubbery, which, 

 while offering protection to the birds, will not 

 hinder close observation of their doings while they 

 are visiting the food-trays. 



The house should be supported, preferably by a fairly stout red cedar post, 

 with the bark left on that part above the ground, and the branches cut about 

 six inches long, so as to serve as perches for prospective visitors. The post 

 should be 5^ to 6 feet above the ground, and set at least 3 feet in the ground, 

 and that portion below the surface should be stripped of bark, and given a 

 thick coating of coal-tar for its proper preservation. If the house be in a posi- 

 tion exposed to the winds, the post may be set in concrete. 



The house itself consists of a square hip-roof, 2 feet 10 inches over all, and 

 supporting beneath it four glazed sashes, 2 feet long by 10^ inches high, and 

 securely joined at the corners. It is attached to the supporting post by 

 means of a wooden block 2 inches thick, fastened beneath the apex of the 

 roof, with a hole in its center into which the top of the post is driven and 

 nailed. 



The roof should be made of three-fourths inch matched sheathing, prefer- 

 ably of cypress, running up and down, with battens over the four hips, the 

 better to keep out the weather. The sashes may be made at home, though 

 I have personally found it better to procure them from some near-by sash 

 manufacturer. 



There should be two food-trays fastened about the supporting post. The 

 upper, 12 inches in diameter, should be on a level with the bottom of the 



(337) 



