SPRING PRACTICE IN ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY. 29 



into an auger hole makes a good perch. Martins and tree-swallows 

 like to nest 26 feet or more above the ground, but other birds usually 

 prefer an elevation of less than 12 feet. Houses made of weather- 

 beaten boards are more attractive to birds than new or painted ones. 

 If the English sparrows appropriate the boxes, allow them to lay 

 their eggs and then destroy every egg before it hatches. After 

 a year or two of this treatment the boxes will be left to their more 

 valuable neighbors. Protect the houses from cats by running a 

 close spiral of barbed wire around the trees or poles which sustain 

 the houses, fastening the wire in position with staples. Gourds 

 with one side cut away to make a door, and hollowed out, may be 

 swung from tree limbs or telephone poles and make attractive 

 houses for several species of birds. Place the houses where they 

 will be shaded from the beating rays of the sun and protect the 

 entrance against dashing rains. 



At nest-building time, robins, swallows and phoebes will much 

 appreciate a box of clay mud, placed within easy access, which is well 

 wetted with water two or three times per day. Orioles, cedar 

 birds and kingbirds will pick up bits of yarn put on limbs of trees 

 or fences for them. Woolen strips cut from discarded clothing will 

 be gladly utilized by some species. Make all such strips not more 

 than 10 or 12 inches long. The following list of materials compris- 

 es those that are most utilized by various birds for nest construc- 

 tion: rootlets, hair from horses and cows, bits of birch bark, bits 

 of newspaper, straw, fine hay, feathers, thread, twine, cedar or 

 grapevine bark, rope yarn, mud, and sphagnum moss. Put these 

 where the birds have access to them. 



Arrange a bathing and drinking place near the house and also, 

 if convenient, in the orchard and in the garden. Arrange the bath 

 so the birds will not be exposed to attack by cats and hawks while 

 indulging themselves. A shallow pan set on the window shelf or on 

 a post on the shady side of the house, or in the shade of a tree at an 

 elevation of four or five feet from the ground, will be satisfactory. 

 A shelving stone should be put in the pan to give varying depths of 

 water from one-half inch to two inches. Where running water is 

 available, a drinking fountain may be constructed on a similar plan, 

 always taking care to have some shallow water and to have the ap- 

 proaches to the spring so open to the view from all sides that the 

 birds can readily detect the approach of danger. Tall weeds and 

 grass should not be allowed to grow around springs and pools, not 

 elevated above the surface of the ground, else lurking cats are 

 almost certain to waylay many helpless birds while their feathers 

 are wet. If filled pans are used, the water should be changed every 

 day. 



