150 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
listened to the flute-like notes of the woodthrush but 
six blocks removed from the busiest corner of the city. 
A year later another woodthrush cast her lot with the 
dwellers of the "Forest City" and last year no less than 
eight pair of thrushes delighted in various parts of the 
city, the initial bird still holding forth at his old site. 
The "Forest City" has been gladdened with the music 
of the forests. 
Realizing that the bird box of commerce is but partly 
successful, Baron Hans von Berlepsch of Seebach, Ger- 
many, attacked the proposition from the standpoint of 
the bird. He cut down many woodpecker holes and split 
them open vertically only to learn that the cavity in 
every instance was approximately a gourd shaped one, 
rounded at the bottom, and tapering toward the en- 
trance. He immediately began constructing" all of his 
bird boxes from logs and along the same lines that the 
birds themselves had followed for ages. These boxes 
served not only the woodpecker, which used but a little 
sawdust on which to lay their eggs, they also served 
the birds which build a nest of soft materials, and thus 
the boxes became 100 per cent, efficient. The Govern- 
ment Bulletin No. 609, "Bird Houses and How to Build 
Them," illustrates the principle to a nicety, but the gov- 
ernment log is split in two so that it may be gouged 
out by hand. These boxes are practical and in case of 
nest photography are more desirable than the original, 
but the labor involved against the cost of a machine 
made box makes them prohibitive. 
\'on Berlepsch also thought of the many birds which 
always will nest without and thus began to plant shelter 
woods with evergreen and thorns and wild fruits. The 
thorns he pruned systematically until they assumed the 
desired density and growth. He provided heaps of 
brushwood for the birds of the wood lands and pruned 
forks of trees and tied bushes into crotches, which were 
safe and desirable sites for tree and shrub building birds. 
Other methods which provided for the welfare of marsh 
and aquatic birds also were carried on in strictly the 
same natural way that the bird would have selected, had 
it been able to control the situation. In consequence 
Seebach became a paradise for birds, hundreds of birds 
nesting in less than IV2 acres. Seebach also became a 
j\Iecca for bird lovers in search of truth. Here they 
found a true conservationist going to nature for advice 
and inspiration. Thus the message and gospel of his 
unswerving devotion to nature's own principle has been 
carried to the corners of the civilized world and ac- 
cepted everywhere as standard. 
While it is impossible for every individual to carry 
out the Von Berlepsch ideas in detail, it is always pos- 
sible to carry them out in principle. Sinnissippi Park 
here in Rockford covers 124 acres. Of these, 60 acres are 
in fine timber, but the early management of the park 
fell into unsympathetic hands, in consequence of which 
it was robbed of much of its natural beauty by denuding 
it of its undergrowth. It no longer knew the song of 
the brown thrasher, the mocking bird of the north. 
How eagerly the few initial brush heaps, composed of 
fallen twigs and limbs and disposed in out of the way 
places, found ready takers. Again the carols of ecstacy 
range forth from liquid throats, the park became filled 
with music, the brown thrasher had accepted the sub- 
stitute. There also was an absence of bird life in Fair- 
grounds Park (24 acres), but with the help of a feed 
house, border planting of berried shrubs, pruned 
crotches and bird boxes it has become a desirable park 
for early morning bird walks. Black Hawk Park, 80 
acres, presenting the typical Illinois woodland scenery, 
is adding annually to its abundant bird population. Rose 
breasted grosbeak, robin, American goldfinch and cat- 
bird in one instance all nested in a radius of 15 feet. In 
addition to many resident and winter resident birds, 
juncos and tree sparrows also remained here in large 
numbers all winter, ever increasing, due to systematic 
winter feeding. Both of these species were met with 
but sparingly anywhere else in this region. 
Consistent winter feeding, hanging out of nesting 
boxes, new plantations of wild fruits and shelter belts, 
annual pruning of crotches, check of natural enemies, 
restoration of natural conditions and an untiring love for 
the work are bound to bring success. A few years of 
effort count but little in the beginning and more often 
they prove a failure, but since nothing succeeds like suc- 
cess, keep on until you reach the successful stage. 
The \'on Berlepsch principles of attracting and pro- 
tecting birds are amply illustrated and discussed in a 
book by Thisenian, which at a small cost may be ob- 
tained from the National Audubon Society, 1974 Broad- 
way, New York City. 
THE ESSENTIALS OF GARDENING. 
TpHOSE who desire to produce early crops should 
bear in mind that a warm, sandy loam will produce 
an earlier crop than a heavier soil that retains more 
water and less heat. Frost is less apt to injure vegetables 
planted on high ground than those planted in low places 
or valleys into which the heavier cold air commonly 
settles. The garden should be fairly level, but well 
drained. The crop will mature more rapidly on land 
that has a sunny, southern exposure than in other plots. 
The essentials for successful gardening on a small or 
large scale are soil, water, and cultivation. Much de- 
pends also on the grower, the season, and the crops 
selected. 
The soil is the storehouse of plant food. The garden, 
therefore, should contain humus or rotted material in 
large quantities. The gardener should remember that 
about 50 per cent, of ordinary earth is not soil at all, 
but consists of air and water. 
\\'atcr makes plant food that is present freely soluble. 
Rain and snow water are soft and contain ammonia. 
The magic of soft water on the plant world is one of the 
miracles of good gardening, as every one who has con- 
trasted the effect of rain with that produced by sprinkling 
with a hose realizes. Plants are succulent and contain 
large amounts of water which they have to draw from 
the soil. 
The conservation of soil moisture is the most inijiortant 
reason for cultivating crops. The two other principal 
things accomplished by cultivation are the killing of 
weeds which draw moisture and plant food from the 
crops, and the aeration of the soil. 
Too much stress can not be laid on the preparation 
of a good seed bed. A seed bed of fine tilth — made so 
by deep plowing, careful harrowing, and fining of the 
soil — is the foundation of good gardening. It is essential 
for the projier germination and growth of young plants. 
The soil must be friable and free from clods. A clod can 
hold no plant food in solution, the only form in which 
it is available for the plant. Good soil and fine tilth 
insure an excellent root system to plants. Upon the fine, 
hairy, fibrous, feeding roots, which are possible only in 
well-tilled soil, the plant depends for its stockiness and 
growth. The careful gardener will regard his whole 
garden as a seed bed and will cultivate and fertilize it 
accordingly. 
Fertilizers, the plant food for the garden, should be 
carefullv selected. 
