38 METHODS OF ATTRACTING BIRDS 



a half inches across. The best height for erect- 

 ing the house is from fifteen to twenty feet, al- 

 though houses placed much higher may be used, 

 cases being recorded in which houses placed as 

 high as fifty feet were occupied. To prevent the 

 English sparrow from getting established early in 

 the season, it is well to keep the holes covered 

 till the return of the martins, or to arrange the 

 house so that it can be taken down in the fall 

 and put up again in the spring. 



Barrel House. — The following suggestions 

 for making a martin-house are taken from Ed- 

 ward H. Forbush's " Useful Birds and Their 

 Protection " : — 



" 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 several 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 in- 

 spected and cleaned when necessary, and the 

 whole house should be painted in light colors, 



