88 SUBURBAN GARDENS 
some similar object. Arches I have purposely 
omitted for reasons which will develop later; 
and bird houses find their positions in trees or 
atop of posts incidentally and not as special ob- 
jects of consideration. 
If I could have nothing else in my own gar- 
den, I most certainly should have the bathing 
and drinking place for birds. And the tiniest 
garden imaginable need not be without it — this 
of course assuming that there are no cats to 
turn its delightful comedy into tragedy. Puss 
is an adorable creature; still she is a feline, and 
we have no right to lure songbirds into her 
zone. Where there is a doubt concerning this 
very important point, therefore, the bath must 
be elevated and guarded by a wire or sheet 
metal shield extending from beneath it, out 
around it at least two feet on every side, and 
inclined slightly up. This must of course have 
no outer supports up which a cat might climb, 
but should either be stiff enough to support 
itself or else mounted on a frame purposely 
made for it. And the bath should be placed 
in the open, with no possible vantage point 
near enough for a jump to be made clear of 
the shield, or from above. 
Where cats abound the basin on the wall 
needs protection from above as well as from 
