2 BULLETIN" 715, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The classes of public reservations upon which more attention might 

 well be paid to attracting birds include the national parks, monuments, 

 and forests; national bird reservations and game refuges; and State 

 and municipal parks, including, when spacious enough, those sur- 

 rounding public buildings, botanical and zoological gardens, the 

 environs of reservoirs and waterworks, and parkways, boulevards, 

 and roadsides. 



Among semipublic reservations upon which bird-attraction methods 

 could be profitably applied are the grounds of colleges and other 

 schools, cemeteries, fair grounds, and the right of ways and other 

 parked areas of transportation lines. 



NATIONAL RESERVATIONS. 



The Federal Government has wisely set aside various tracts of 

 public land, either to preserve areas of great scenic or ethnologic in- 

 terest, or to assist in the perpetuation of such natural resources as 

 forests, game animals, and birds. The primary purpose of these reser- 

 vations, to preserve objects of great interest, may well be supple- 

 mented by an attempt to increase within safe limits their natural 

 attractions, among which are birds. 



On the national parks and monuments, which are great public 

 recreation grounds, birds may well be increased, because of their 

 strong appeal to many tourists. In the Yosemite National Park 

 much has already been done hi the way of erecting bird houses and 

 planting fruit-bearing shrubs, especially near the main thoroughfares. 

 The methods that may be followed are those described in the Farmers' 

 Bulletins cited in the footnote on page 1, and in No. 609, entitled 

 Bird Houses and How to Build Them. 



The objects of the national forests are primarily utilitarian, and 

 they will certainly be furthered by an increase in the number of birds. 

 Great efforts are now directed toward reducing rodent pests in 

 national forests, as a measure of protection not only to the forests, 

 but also to crops on adjoining lands. Upon the same principle, 

 an increase in useful birds within the forests will have a beneficial 

 influence throughout the environs of these reservations. The 

 methods recommended for this purpose are those mentioned in the 

 preceding paragraph. 



On the national bird reservations and game refuges, which have 

 been established for the precise purpose of preserving and increasing 

 wild life, the use of bird-attraction methods should be an essential 

 part of the administration. To make these places more attractive 

 to birds in general and to benefit the smaller birds directly, the 

 measures already referred to should be used. The problem of better 

 fitting the reservations for other birds may be treated as dual, in vol v- 



