STOKES SEED FARMS COMPANY 



MOORESTOWN 



NEW JERSEY 



water supply is appreciated by birds in winter as well as 

 in summer. It helps to keep the birds in the neighbor- 

 hood, especially if there is no water near by. 



Food supply is of very great importance in bird life. During 

 that part of the year when the natural food supply is scarce and 

 difficult to obtain birds respond most readily to our hospitality. 

 Winter feeding has become very popular and has resulted in an 

 increased interest in birds and a deeper study of their life and habits. 



The Bluebird is one of the most familiar of our feathered visitors 

 and one of the earliest northern migrants, everywhere hailed as a 

 harbinger of spring. It is an insect-eating bird, and has not been 

 accused of stealing fruit or of preying upon crops. It generally raises 

 two broods in a summer, but makes a new nest for the second brood. 



The Downy Woodpecker builds its nest in the same kmd of a 

 house as the Bluebird. 



The diminutive Wren frequents barns and gardens and particular- 

 ly old orchards in which the trees are partially decayed. Its food is 

 almost entirely composed of insects, and it is an industrious forager, 

 searching every tree, shrub and vine for spiders and other insects. 



No. 42 is a two-story Wren house to be suspended from a limb 

 of a tree. As Wrens generally raise two broods in a summer, but 

 require a fresh room for the second, the house will serve the family 

 for the season. 



No. 43, a great favorite, is a hexagonal house of three rooms for 

 Wrens or Bluebirds. It should be suspended from a stout limb of a 

 tree. When intended for Bluebirds it is made with a socket in the 

 bottom for a pole. Bluebirds prefer a house with a firm foundation. 



No. 64 Price $1.50 

 Catbird or Thrush House 



No. 70 Price $18.00 

 Martin House 



The Chickadee, or Black-Capped Titmouse, prefers in the nest- 

 ing season the deep, cool woods. The character of its food gives a 

 peculiar value to its services, for it consists largely of the small 

 insects and their eggs that wholly escape the search of larger birds. 

 The Tufted Titmouse of the same family of birds as the Chickadee 

 works in the same field with similar good results. The White- 

 Breasted Nuthatch consumes the same kind of food as the Chickadee 

 and like the Chickadee prefers the quiet and secluded woods for its 

 nesting place, but either of these birds can be induced to build in 

 an artificial house, and the house especially designed for them is 

 No. 45, which simulates their natural homes. 



Branches containing real Woodpecker holes, when obtainable, 

 are perhaps the best attraction that can be offered most house- 

 nesting birds in the breeding season. By carefully fitting such a 

 branch to a fruit or shade tree its foreign origin will scarcely be noticed. 

 This idea is carried out in No. 45, which is a short log split with a 

 saw to near one end, and after gouging out the interior, fastening it 

 together with screws, so as to resemble a Woodpecker's nesting place. 

 Birds Hke it. Sassafras or Red Cedar wood is used in its construction, 

 both distasteful to vermin, and very durable. It is made with a 

 cavity from three and a half to five inches in diameter, according 

 to size of log. 



The Great Crested Flycatcher, as its name impUes, is an insect- 

 eating bird. It is pugnacious, and often drives away other birds 

 from^hoUow trees and appropriates the results of their labor. The 

 Phoebe, or Pewee, prefers the vicinity of farm buildings, and is a 



No. 71 Price $12.00 

 Eight Rooms for Martins 



No. 72 Price $15.00 

 Twelve Rooms for Martins 



tireless hunter of insects, which it takes on the wing. It will nest in 

 a shelter if properly constructed and placed about fifteen feet from 

 the ground. The Robin in many parts of the country is one of the 

 most cherished of our birds. It is easily attracted to a properly 

 made shelter not less than eight feet from the ground. Of seven 

 common species of Swallows found in the United States, four have 

 abandoned to some extent their primitive nesting habits and have 

 attached themselves to the abode of man. The Tree Swallow 

 requires the same kind and size of house as the Bluebird, Nos. 32, 33, 

 but placed in a higher position. Martins are inclined to nest in colonies 

 and a house for these birds should contain at least eight or ten rooms. 



No. 64 is designed to be placed in the shrubbery for Catbirds, 

 Brown Thrashers and Song Sparrows. 



No. 70 is a house of sixteen rooms for a colony of Martins, and the 

 only way to attract a colony of these desirable birds is to put up a 

 house for them. It is designed after the Japanese style, and is an 

 ornament to any country place. By using the easy raising, jointed 

 pole the house can be put in place, taken down and cleaned and put 

 back in position with very little trouble. 



Great care has been taken to have the bird houses described in 

 this catalogue made to conform to the requirements of the birds as 

 laid down by competent experts and government officials who have 

 given the subject study and experience, but at the same time an effort 

 has been made to have them ornamental and artistic, so as in no 

 way to mar the beauty of their surroundings. Some birds are satis- 

 fied with nesting houses of rough material at small expense, but such 

 things as tin cans, old hats or rough boxes are not calculated to en- 

 hance the charm and beauty of home or garden, although they may 

 be tolerated around barns and other outbuildings. All the houses 

 can easily be opened and cleaned. 



LOG BIRD HOUSES 



Log houses made to simulate just such as the birds find in the 

 natural forest are considered by those who have given the subject 

 much study and attention to be the very best that can be made. 

 There is no nesting place so attractive to most hole-nesting birds as 

 a dead limb of a tree become hollow by decay, and these log houses 

 are intended to give the birds in this respect just what they like. 

 All those here illustrated are made so that by loosening a screw or 

 two they can be opened for cleaning out the old nests. They are made 

 of short logs of sassafras, red cedar or white birch. Sassafras and 

 red cedar repel insects, and white birch has an attractive appearance. 



No. 44 No. 35 No. 47 No. 48 No. 81 No. 82 



Price $3.50 Bluebird House Price $1.10 each Three for $3.00 

 Bluebirds or Wrens . For Wrens and Chicadees 



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