THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 397 
stroyed and more Martin boxes put up, we might have, in 
time, more Martins than ever.!| A house for a large Martin 
colony ordinarily involves the expenditure of a considerable 
sum; but a very good house, that will accommodate a colony 
of ordinary size, may be made from a flour barrel. The roof 
is of zinc, or of wood covered with painted canvas. The 
Martin house should be placed on a pole at least fifteen to 
twenty feet high. It should have sev- 
eral large rooms, with entrances two to 
three inches in diameter, that it may 
provide room enough for several pairs 
of birds, and that each tenement may be 
readily inspected and cleaned when nec- 
essary, and the whole house should be 
painted in light colors, that the young 
birds may not suffer too much from the 
rays of the hot sun. It should be so 
constructed that the young birds may 
not be readily crowded out of the nest, 
and so become the prey of cats. Sucha Fig. 170.—a Martin 
catastrophe may be guarded against by ees 
having a shelf or piazza extending round the house beneath 
each tier of doorways, and constructing a railing at least 
three inches high round the platform. Each of these plat- 
forms should have a slight downward pitch, to carry off the 
rain and prevent it from driving into the doorways below. 
There should be no brackets beneath the box, for they afford 
the cat a foothold. Many other designs will suggest them- 
selves. A barrel might be covered and roofed with bark and 
the railings made of twigs. In fitting up the rooms, a square 
box should first be made, to go up the center of the barrel. 
+ An attempt might be made to establish the Martins by bringing here in the 
night from other States bird houses occupied by Martins, young and old, and 
setting them up on poles prepared for them in suitable localities here. There is 
reason to believe that such introductions would succeed if carefully conducted 
when the young had made about half their growth. One successful attempt is 
on record. There is a plentiful supply of food here for Swallows and Martins. 
The increase of mosquitoes and flies in many localities since the summer of 1903, 
when so many of these birds were destroyed, has attracted wide attention. The 
reinstatement of the Martins is an important matter, which should engage the 
attention of the State Board of Agriculture. 
