FOR EROiiDCAST USE OWLY 



AIJMOUNCELIENT; Good day and good luck! This is the day we ttme in on 

 Nature or what 7ncle Sam's Naturalists of the United States Pepartment 

 of Agricijltiire have to gay about it. 



Lfit's sing today with the wisest of men "Lol the winter is 



past; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of "birds 

 is come," 



If the music hasn't swelled to a grand chorus around your neigh- 

 borhood yet, it wonH he long now, AnyT\ay W.L. McAtee, of the United 

 States Biological Survey, has been giving me some good hints on how to 

 iraprove my chances of getting aa ear full of bird music and an eye full 

 of feathered beauty. To say nothing, of the help of a number of active 

 workers to keep down insect pests, 



Mr, McAtee says that when you take proper measures to attract and 

 protect birds, you can often increase the bird population several fold. And 

 hy doing that, you can cut down the losses from depredations of injurious 

 insects, 



TThoever said a bird in the hand is worth tv/o in the bush, e\'ldently 

 overlooked the activity of those tv/o in the buth gobbling up troublesome 

 insects. 



And, from what Mr. McAtee says, it seems to be a good idea to have 

 a bjLsh for that pe.ir of birds to make their hcii.e in. Although a iaumber of 

 our native birds build their nests on the grou\^d, most of them prefer to 

 set up house-keeping iv^ trees or shrubs — in holes or on the limbs or in 

 the crotches. For th.-jt reason, shr^abbery and trees for nesting sites are 

 needed to make the place attractive to birds, 



Tf the kinds of trees and shrubs planted are chosen from among cer- 

 tain wild fr'oit-bearing species, they will serve a double purpose of pro- 

 viding some food as well as lodging for the birds, and will help protect 

 domestic varieties of fruit. 



However, to make shrubs more attrar'tive for birds, Mr. McAtee sug- 

 gests the shrubs be allowed to form thickets and that you prune them back 



