3 oz. ; oats, iy 2 oz. ; 

 dried elderberries, iy 2 

 %■ oi; ; sunflower seeds, 

 1% oz, ; ants' eggs, 

 ]}{/oz." 



A SIMPLE AND AT- 

 TRACTIVE FOOD 

 SUPPLY 



Perhaps the simplest 

 scheme of feeding, the 

 least trouble and the 

 most attractive t o 

 numbers of birds, is 

 the tying of a piece of 

 suet to a convenient 

 limb, or perhaps to the 

 balustrade o f one's 

 piazza, preferably in a 

 protected spot and one 

 that can at the same 

 time be easily watched 

 from some window 

 (see page 332). 



In all these food- 

 houses various kinds 

 of food should be sup- 

 plied — suet, crumbs, 

 millet, hemp, rape- 

 seed, canary-seed, and 

 the like. On my place 

 the birds have such a 

 wealth of natural food 

 that it is only during 

 the winter storms and when the ground 

 is covered with snow that they visit the 

 food-houses ; but on many other places — 

 as, for instance, in Meriden, N. H., where 

 Mr. Baynes and the Meriden Bird Club 

 are doing such good work — there have 

 been food-houses erected on places along 

 the main street, entirely apart from any 

 protecting shrubbery or natural food sup- 

 ply, and many of these food-houses seem 

 to be well patronized both winter and 

 summer. 



Water, particularly during the sum- 

 mer months or times of drought, is, of 

 course, necessary for the birds. If they 

 can't get it on your place, they will be 

 forced to look elsewhere. The proper 

 installment of a drinking fountain or 

 bird bath is a simple affair, and one that 

 is almost sure to prove a great attraction 

 to the birds, as well as a never-failing 

 source of entertainment to the owner. 



Drinking fountains may be purchased 

 readv made or manufactured at home. 



ON 



Photo by B. S. Bowdish 

 INTIMATE TERMS 



This jolly little white-breasted nuthatch has just taken a dainty 

 morsel from the lips of its friend. These little birds are very clever 

 climbers and can run up and down tree trunks in the most agile 

 manner. 



Almost any shallow receptacle will do 

 when placed in some quiet spot not too 

 far from protecting shrubbery, but out 

 of reach of skulking cats. Where the 

 cats have not all been eliminated, it is 

 sometimes safer to place the bath on a 

 pedestal. 



A pool with foundation of concrete 

 sunken in the ground, partially filled with 

 earth and stones and planted with cat- 

 tails, Japanese iris, or other moisture- 

 loving plants, or perhaps with water- 

 lilies and inhabited by a few goldfish, 

 can be made a very interesting feature 

 of any garden, to say nothing of its at- 

 tractiveness to birds. It is essential, how- 

 ever, that the slope of the sides should 

 be gradual and the water at the edges 

 shallow (see pages 338 and 339). 



If one has a brook or natural pond on 

 the place, much can be done, particularly 

 if the bottom of the pond is suitable for 

 the planting of food for ducks. If the 

 lay of the ground is such that a meadow^ 



333 



