lump of suet or pork fat offered in a woven wire holder or tied securely 
to an arbor or the trunk or branch of a tree. 
And some of the birds become so tame that they are almost as 
easy to handle as the stationary flowers of the summer garden. In- 
deed my wife and I have often literally "picked" them from the win- 
dow-sill, from the ground, and even from the shrubs in the garden. In 
our little village of Meriden, New Hampshire, where almost everyone 
feeds the birds, twenty-three species have been fed on the windowsills, 
and eight species have been known to alight upon the hand. 
People who do not occupy their country homes in winter, sometimes 
forget that the birds of the garden are none the less hungry because 
their hosts are away. It is not a difficult matter as a rule to arrange to 
have one's feathered guests fed regularly by a neighbor, and sometimes 
a number of neighbors can among them employ a man to replenish all 
the feeding devices two or three times a week. 
At other seasons most birds are well able to forage for themselves, 
yet if we choose to offer them a supply of seed and suet, many of 
them will take advantage of our hospitality to spend more time in our 
gardens than they otherwise would. Purple finches, song sparrows 
and others will visit the seed trays all through the summer and give us 
the full benefit of their songs. 
And hardly any garden is too small to do at least a little planting 
for the birds. In fact, we can scarcely plant at all without making a 
garden more attractive to some species. Larkspur, Columbine and 
Bee Balm are only a few of the many flowers frequented by humming- 
birds, and Lilac, Weigela, Honeysuckle and Trumpet Creeper but a 
few of the shrubs and creepers they will come a long way to visit. 
But it is in large gardens, of course, that most attention can be 
given to the planting of trees and shrubs and creepers which for one 
reason or another are beloved by our feathered neighbors. 
In selecting plants which bear fruit that is eaten by birds, it is well 
to give some attention to the fruiting seasons in order that there may 
be a succession of food covering the greater part of the year. For 
example, we might have as summer attractions such trees as white 
Mulberry, red Mulberry and Bird Cherry (Prunus pennsyhanica); 
and such shrubs as blue Cornel and red-berried Elder. For autumn 
fruit trees we might plant flowering Dogwood, white Thorn and 
another bird Cherry {Prunus serotina), and shrubs like silky Cornel, 
gray Cornel and common Elder. A winter food supply can be fur- 
nished by planting gray Birch, Cockspur Thorn and Mountain Ash 
trees; such shrubs as Black Alder and Sheep-berry, and Virginia 
Creeper perhaps. Of course the fruits of these plants ripen before the 
winter, but unless they are previously eaten by the birds, they hang 
on through the coldest weather. The fruits of a few other plants are 
9 
