100 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Hospitality to Our Friends the Birds. 
While the horticultural societies are discuss¬ 
ing the question whether birds are not more 
plague than profit, we assume that certain 
. small birds are useful to the cultivator. The 
wrens have long been accepted as friends, and 
now the European sparrow comes to us, to help 
in the war against insects. The last named have 
been on their good behavior thus far, and no one 
has been able to bring any serious charges 
against them. These little birds seem to prefer to 
be near dwellings, and to court our protection. 
Wrens, sparrows, 
and the like, will 
avail themselves 
of any cavity that 
seems convenient 
as a nesting place, 
and will occupy 
houses with great 
readiness. Bird- 
houses have be¬ 
come a kind of 
institution in New 
York City since 
the sparrows have 
come, and some 
structures have 
been put up that 
are more elabo- 
Fig. 1. —flower-pot house, rate than tasteful. 
One of the public 
squares has so 
many of these 
ornamented bird- 
houses that it 
looks much like a 
confectioner’s shop. When we consider that all 
that the bird needs is a secure cavity in which to 
place its nest, it will be seen that all this paint¬ 
ing and gilding is as useless as it is in bad taste. 
The rudest box will be occupied as readily as 
the most costly and highly ornamented bird- 
house. Some years ago we gave an account of 
a curious bird-house. Some one had hung an 
old oil-feeder upon the picket of a fence; this 
was taken possession of by a pair of wrens, who 
Fig. 7.—DIAGRAM OF FIC. 
Fig. 4.— RUSTIC HOUSE. 
built their nest and raised a brood in these odd 
quarters. A simple box with a hole in it, fast¬ 
ened against a tree, vyill be very sure to be in¬ 
habited. Even so rude a thing as a common 
flower-pot was converted into a bird-house by 
Mr. Edwin Roberts, of Brooklyn. Figure 1 
shows how the flower-pot was suspended. The 
hole at the bottom of the pot was of course en¬ 
larged, as may readily be done by nipping out 
small bits with a pair of pincers, or by careful 
punching with an iron rod, the bottom of the 
pot being placed upon the ground. Leaving 
these simple devices, we give some more elab¬ 
orate, yet tasteful ones, devised by our artist. 
Where the bird-house stands out by itself, it 
should not be a piece of “gingerbread-work,” 
but in keeping with its surroundings. Figure 2 
shows a very pretty rustic one, intended to be 
placed upon a pole. It is made of a portion of 
a nail-keg, or similar receptacle—in fact, it is a 
small tub well secured by hoops. The interior 
may be divided into as many compartments as 
is desirable, each one with a small opening out¬ 
wards. The interior being arranged as a tene¬ 
ment-house, the exterior is covered with pieces 
of bark neatly nailed on. The pole passes 
through far enough to allow of the attachment 
of the straw which is to serve for the thatched 
roof. A house of this kind placed upon a rough 
pole, with a Trumpet Creeper or other vine 
running over it, is exceedingly picturesque. In 
figure 3, we give one of the least objectionable 
of the Nety York houses; it is made either 
six or eight-sided, and has a rustic appearance 
given to it by the use of bark, and the burs of 
the Sweet Gum tree ( Liquidambar ). Figure 4 
gives a pretty design, in which an old oyster or 
paint keg is made to serve as the basis of the 
structure. Its exterior is covered with bark; 
it has a roof of the same material, and is placed 
on a rustic shelf. In figure 5, a keg may be used, 
or a cut of solid timber may be taken, a portion 
of the bark being removed to allow of the cutting 
out of the cavity, 
and the bark care¬ 
fully tacked on 
afterwards. Hollow 
sticks can often be 
found which with a 
little ingenuity may 
be converted into 
bird - houses, and 
where these are 
wanting a sound 
stick may be made 
to serve, as shown 
in figure G. A por¬ 
tion of the bark is to 
be removed, and a 
cavity made, as seen 
in the diagram, fig. 
7; a hole for au 
entrance is bored, 
and the bark is re¬ 
placed. A sufficient 
number of illustra¬ 
tions are here given 
to show that it re- „ „ 
Fig. 3.— HEXAGON HOUSE. 
quires no great 
amount of skill to afford accommodations for our 
feathered friends, that will be unobtrusive and 
tasteful without taxing the ingenuity of the car¬ 
penter or painter. If paint must be used in any 
such structures,let it be of an inconspicuous color. 
Peach Stones for planting should have been 
kept mixed with sand or sandy loam, and ex¬ 
posed to the frost. Freezing is necessary to in¬ 
sure their germination. If the stones have been 
kept dry, mix with earth, and freeze them at 
once. If they show no signs of germinating at 
planting time, they must be cracked, and the 
Fig. 5.— RUSTIC HOUSE. 
seeds mixed with earth, and kept warm until 
they begin to start, taking care to keep them 
moist. Plant as soon as they begin to start. 
