16 
FARMERS^ BULLETIN 609. 
and fox squirrels are occasionally troublesome. It is not necessary, 
however, that bird lovers should wage indiscriminate warfare against 
aU squirrels. It is far better to 
Fig. 42.—Food shelter for attachment to trunk 
of tree. 
adopt the rule never 
squirrel unless there is 
reason to believe that 
it has acquired the 
habit of eating eggs 
or young birds; the 
result will probably 
be that not more than 
one red squirrel in fifty 
nor more than one 
gray squirrel in a hun¬ 
dred will have to be 
killed. Where squir¬ 
rels are numerous they 
to kill a 
give more or less trouble by gnaw¬ 
ing and disfigurmg houses. This damage may be prevented, however, 
by covering the parts about the entrance with tin or zinc. 
FOOD SHELTERS. 
Another means of attracting birds about human habitations is to 
furnish an abundance of food, 
preferably in food shelters. If 
one is unable to make shelters 
that will protect food in all kinds 
of weather, the food may be fas¬ 
tened to trunks or branches of 
trees or scattered in sheltered 
places on the ground. A de¬ 
cided advantage in having 
shelters, aside from that of pro¬ 
tecting food, is that they may 
be placed where the birds can be 
watched conveniently. When 
shelters are used the birds are 
first baited by placing food, such 
as suet, seeds, or cracked nuts, 
in a conspicuous place, and then 
led by degrees to enter the in¬ 
closure. Designs for two food 
shelters are exhibited in figures 
Fig. 43.—Vertical section, side to side, with sug¬ 
gestions for larder; diagrammatic and cross sec¬ 
tion of food shelter shown in figure 42. 
42 and 46, one of which is supported by a post, the other by a tree. 
Structural details are shown for both. There is no bottom to either 
of them. 
