THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 391 
sawed from the ends of the stick, will make the top and bot- 
tom. These must be reduced in size by a shave until the 
bark can be lapped fully half an inch at the incision on the 
back. Now tack the bark to the bottom and top. Such a 
box may be put up by nailing or screwing a short stick or 
pole over the lap on the back, which stick can 
in turn be nailed or screwed to the support. 
To make the roof watertight, a piece of thin, 
green bark from a young pine may be put on 
and tacked down over the edges. It will fit 
like soft leather, and make a neat appearance ; 
but experience has shown that it will not long 
resist the effect of sun and rain. A more per- 
manent covering may be made by using a piece 
of tin or zinc, as shown in the figure of the 
chestnut bark box (Plate XLVI, Fig. 6); or 
a roof may be made of birch bark, as shown in 
Plate XLVII, Fig. 2. To make the expected Hig eal 
nest accessible to examination, the top of the _ barknesting box, 
bark sides might be fastened to a hoop, and saan 
the whole capped by a tin or wooden cover, like that of a 
lard pail or a berry box. The best support is a slim pole. 
Serviceable dwellings for birds may be made of the shells 
of gourds. Seedsmen advertise the seed, and any one can 
grow gourds. Squashes, even, may be utilized. The hard- 
shelled, old-fashioned winter crook-neck would make a stout 
castle for a Bluebird. or a Martin. 
Four old shingles and two pieces of old board will make 
a box like that shown in Fig. 167. This may be nailed up 
in a tall tree near the house, or on a building. It must be 
out of reach of cats, or the young are likely to be clawed out 
of the hole by these stealthy marauders. To checkmate the 
cat, a much deeper box may be made, with a small, high- 
placed round hole for the entrance, and a sloping, overhang- 
ing roof, which helps to keep out both water and cats. (See 
Plate XLVII, Fig. 4.) There is another advantage in a 
box of this pattern. The young birds find it rather hard to 
get out of such a box at first. They have to make many 
attempts, and when they finally escape they are quite strong 
