SONG-SPARROWS TAKING A BATH Photo by Ernest Harold Baynes 



"A pool with foundation of concrete sunken in the ground . . . can be made a very 

 interesting feature of any garden, to say nothing of its attractiveness to birds. It is essen- 

 tial, however, that the slope of the sides should be gradual and the water at the edges 

 shallow" (see page 333). 



position at that. They seem absolutely 

 fearless, come and go at will, though only 

 a short distance away are gunners who 

 are waiting to take a crack at them. 



Only a few of us have ponds to which 

 geese may be attracted, but the above ex- 

 periment shows what can be and has been 

 done in the way of attracting- and taming 

 locally the shy wild geese. 



HOUSES FOR THE BIRDS 



Of bird-houses, to be supplied for those 

 birds that nest about buildings or in 

 holes of trees, there seems to be an al- 

 most infinite variety ; tree stumps, real or 

 artificial, boxes, cottages, houses, large 

 and elaborate mansions, barrel-houses, 

 gourds, flower-pots, tin-cans, shelves, 

 and all kinds of contraptions. 



Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton went so 

 far as to construct on his place in Con- 

 necticut a huge artificial stump, filled 

 with imitation woodpeckers' holes, etc. 



He attracted numbers of different kinds 

 of birds and animals, and he seems to 

 have had no end of fun with it. It is not 

 allowed to all of us, however, to be given 

 either the opportunity or the enthusiasm 

 possessed by Mr. Seton. 



Of the various kinds of houses space 

 will allow but brief mention. On my own 

 place, which is covered largely with 

 woods, I have used the Berlepsch type of 

 vertical boxes with considerable success. 

 These are simply sections of logs, hol- 

 lowed out by special machinery in a very 

 particular manner to represent wood- 

 pecker cavities, with entrance hole in 

 side of desired diameter, and covered by 

 a wooden cap or roof that may be lifted 

 for purposes of investigation or in order 

 that the nests may be cleaned out from 

 time to time, the whole bolted to an 

 oaken batten, by which they may be fas- 

 tened to trees (see pages 323 and 325). 



These may be obtained in Germany, 



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