34 



The lower part of the breeding cavity itseK is enlarged bottle-shaped, 

 and ends in a pointed oval trough at the bottom. The inner walls are 

 somewhat uneven, so that the birds can cling to them more easily- 

 In the extreme point of the nest trough a little mould or fine shavings 

 that have been chiselled off serve for the eggs to rest on. 



The walls of the cavities are in every instance so strong that 

 atmospheric changes have no effect on the interior. The Berlepsch 

 nesting-boxes are exact reproductions of these woodpecker holes. 

 At first they were made by hand, with special instruments. But this 

 method of reproduction was so troublesome, and therefore so expensive, 

 that the general pubhc derived little benefit from it. Matters were 

 not simphfied till an experienced and practical manufacturer became 

 interested in reproducing the artificial woodpecker holes wholesale, 

 and not tiU then could the problem of nesting-boxes be considered 

 solved. 



Mr. Hermann Scheid, in Biiren (Westphalia), is the man whom Baron 

 von Berlepsch induced to help in his plans for the production of nesting- 

 boxes, as well as of the other articles connected with the protection 

 of birds. Mr. Scheid who, from childhood, had loved and studied birds, 

 devoted himseK exclusively and with great energy to the undertaking, 

 which at first seemed somewhat risky. I am quite justified in calling 

 the undertaking risky for a manufacturer, for everyone who knows 

 Baron von Berlepsch will agree that it is not exactly easy to satisfy him, 

 and only those can claim to have satisfied him who have carried out 

 his demands and wishes to the veriest detail. True to nature, 

 durable and cheap at the same time, was the watchword for the 

 manufacturer. 



Complicated machinery made this possible, and as the success 

 which resulted everywhere from the use of the boxes was their best 

 recommendation, they achieved their present reputation much more 

 quickly than was anticipated. The great and steady increase in their 

 use obliged Herr Scheid to provide, in addition to his factory at Biiren, 

 similar factories at Miihlhausen, in East Prussia, and at Dobrilugk, 

 Prov. Brandenburg. 



We must not omit to mention that at the instigation of the Hungarian 

 Ornithological Bureau these boxes are manufactured faultlessly in 

 Austro-Hungary, in special factories under State management. 



