4 THE MAKING OF BIEDCRAFT SANCTUARY 



ing shrubs and vines for berries and Hummingbird honej^ 



The various estimates for the proper doing of the work 

 accompanied the list, which was promptly returned with ' ' 0. K., 

 begin at once ' ' written across it. Immediately the work began 

 with the cat-proof fence. 



As the scheme became known, there were many queries as 

 to the suitability of the spot for bird homes. The casual ob- 

 server, for some occult reason, associates the deep woods with 

 bird life, when, in reality, aside from birds of prey and perhaps 

 a dozen species beside, the great bulk of song birds prefer open 

 or partly brushed fields edged by tall trees, Avith water close at 

 hand, and not too far from human habitations ; for, in spite of 

 everything, they seem instinctively to trust to man rather than 

 to their wld enemies. Such a spot was Birdcraft, even before 

 the protecting fence of wire-netting, capped by spreading arms 

 with barbed claws, was built about it. 



The bird-sown trees, shrubs, and plants listed during the 

 summer of preparation were as follows : Red, white and pin 

 oaks, red cedar, mulberry, several hundred bird cherry trees, 

 ungrafted sweet cherries, high and low bush blackberries, dew- 

 berries, thimble berries, strawberries, huckleberries, blue- 

 berries, and black and red chokeberries ; staghorn and glabrous 

 sumachs, Virginia creeper, wild grapes of three species, bay- 

 berry, wild plum, shad bush, wild smilax of two species (Mo- 

 hawk briar), elderberries, prickly pear, three species of wild 

 roses, sweetbriar, great clumj^s of the alder bushes hamited by 

 Song Sparrows in late winter and early spring for their SAveet 

 cone seeds, and last, meshing everything with its half -evergreen 

 vines, were masses of Japanese honeysuckle, seeming to thrive 

 even upon the thin soil between the rock ledges. 



Trail-making was the first actual work done on the land 

 itself. This required skill in knowing what not to do, and in 

 keeping the lay of the land in mind, so that the paths would have 

 meaning, and not simply intersect the place at regular intervals 

 like the plotting out of city lots. Cow-paths are usually safe 

 guides, — they always lead either to or from something and 

 never turn abruptly. So, keeping this in mind. The Commuter, 

 who knew the old pasture well, and our County Game Warden, 

 evolved a sort of game of "follow the leader." One tramped 

 through the brush carrying a large ball of thin cord, while the 

 other followed, knotting the slack of the string to the bushes as 

 he passed. The natural swing of the body in taking the hills 



