48 TBE OSPREY. 



undoubtedly a second attempt to raise the third brood and probably the other 

 was also. 



It will also be noted that the large sets seem to be laid in the second laying, 

 in early summer, and of the twenty -eight sets twenty are of three eggs, two 

 are two eggs, two are of four eggs, three are of five eggs and one was incom- 

 plete. [The illustrations referred to will appear in the next issue. — Editor.] 



BOARD AND LODGING OF BIRDS. 



In a Pennsylvania school journal we find the following novel suggestion 

 which we feel certain will interest all our readers: 



"We have found a very simple way of providing board in winter and 

 lodging in summer for a great number of birds, says a Christian Work writer. 

 You have only to buy a few cocoanuts, cut off the ends, like taking the top 

 off an egg, which can easily be done with a sharp chisel and a mallet, bore 

 holes through the sides, put a string through and knot it, and then hang the 

 cocoanut from a creeper or bough. Thus for a few cents you can provide 

 food for these lively little birds for weeks, or rather months. Last winter 

 our cocoanuts were seldom let alone for many moments. Birds swarmed on 

 them, lowering themselves down by a string, and at last, when confidence was 

 quite established, flying straight in. They worked away at them from early 

 morn till dewy eve. When all the nut is eaten the shells make excellent nest- 

 ing places, and will probably be taken possession of by the same birds that 

 hollow them out, if the shells are left out through the summer. In this way 

 both board and lodging are provided on most reasonable terms, with no extras. 

 In the hardest weather, this food supply is always available, and if you are 

 away from home a few days you know that your little birds will not be in want. 



We would suggest however, that a hole of moderate size, large enough to 

 admit a sparrow, be cut into the side of the shell near the top and a few small 

 ones at the bottom to permit any water which might enter by way of the 

 large opening to drain out below; a most necessary measure if the shell is in- 

 tended to serve as a nesting box later. A large cocoanut shell would be quite 

 roomy enough for the housekeeping of such birds as Wrens, Chicakdees, Eng- 

 lish Sparrows, and even the Nuthatch. 



We are by no means the only people who provide food for the birds in 

 winter, nor is the practice a new one; we find it alluded to again and again in 

 literature and even in pictures does this charitable act find representation. 

 Such a picture came to our hands during the holidays, one representing "Yule- 

 tide" in Norway. It was with pleasure that we noted the sheaf of grain 

 stuck up on a high pole as a Christmas gift for the birds in a scene of snow clad- 

 Norway. 



