to remember a jewel better than its setting, no matter how charming 
that setting may be, I find that when I think of lovely gardens I have 
visited, it is often a bird which has left the deepest impression of 
loveliness. Of a certain Meriden, New Hampshire, garden, for in- 
stance, my most vivid picture is of a Baltimore oriole in gold and 
black, sweeping with outstretched wings above a bird bath of deep 
blue. A Cornish garden was fixed in my memory forever by an iri- 
descent humming bird which moved swiftly but at leisure among the 
tall stately heads of the larkspur. Of all the beautiful features in the 
garden of Mrs. Francis King at Alma, Michigan, I remember best the 
red breasts of twenty robins gleaming in the early sunlight on the lawn, 
as they waited for their morning bath. And of a lovely walled garden 
in Malines, Belgium, perhaps my sweetest memory is the heavenly 
voice of a nightingale which mingled with the soft chimes from the grey 
tower of Cardinal Mercier's cathedral. And my memories of the 
flowers, the shrubs and the stately trees in these gardens have been 
brightened or at least made happier by the presence of birds among 
them. 
To most gardens a certain number of birds will probably come with- 
out even an invitation, but it is surprising how many more will make 
themselves at home if we extend real hospitality to them. It is easy to 
do this, for birds are simple in their tastes. Their wants are few. Like 
us they require something to eat, something to drink, and a bath in 
summer. They require a site for a home, material with which to build 
the home, and a reasonable assurance that they will be allowed to 
live in peace and rear their families in safety. 
In the northern states at least, winter is the season at which birds 
most greatly appreciate an addition to their natural food supply. 
Those of us who are privileged to live in the country at this season, 
may if we will, and by the simple sowing of seeds, see our garden bloom 
again with red-polls, blue jays, evening grosbeaks perhaps, or a bit 
farther south, with juncos, tree sparrows and purple finches; while 
here and there we may note the single blossoms of cardinal grosbeak 
or tufted titmouse. 
There are many seeds which may be given, hemp and millet being 
among the most popular. Several species are fond of cracked corn; 
and bread crumbs, broken nuts, sunflower seeds, chaff, oats, canary 
seed, doughnut crumbs, and broken squash and pumpkin seeds are all 
attractive to some of the winter birds. This seed may be served on a 
patch of well trampled snow, which affords a wonderful background 
against which to observe the winter guests, or in a window box, or in a 
food house so designed and painted as to be a pleasing feature of the 
garden. Some of the insectivorous birds — wood-peckers, for example, 
will not be attracted by the seed, but will come early and often to a 
