22 
for this are given in Florence Mirriam’s Birds of Village and Field, in 
connection with an account of Mrs. Davenport’s interesting experi¬ 
ences with the ‘ ‘ window shelf. ’ ’ A board by the 
window for crumbs and all sorts of bird foods appro¬ 
priate to the seasons should become as much a 
household institution as the window garden inside, 
and promises to be a source of even more interest 
and pleasure. Here, again, the English sparrow is 
the great obstacle, but, with proper precautions and 
supervision, the window shelf may become a most efficient means of 
ridding our towns and cities of this most ubiquitous of pests. 
Water may be supplied by placing a .shallow dish, always kept 
fresh and clean, on a short post under a tree, merely high enough up 
to be out of reach of cats. The water should not be more than two 
inches deep. Few people who have not tried it can have any idea of 
the satisfaction there is in seeing the thirsty birds come down to bathe 
and drink. For three years past I have had one by my study window, 
and at the present moment a robin is making the water fly in every 
direction. The next comer is an English sparrow, and the next and 
the next and the next two English sparrows, but while they are with 
us we should not wish them to be thirsty, and the next is a female 
robin, the next a red-eyed vireo, the next an English sparrow, all 
within fifteen minutes, and so it goes in the noon hour whenever I 
have time to watch. Nothing adds more to comfort of birds in hot 
weather. 
To supply homes, nesting places, and materials for nests is a most 
fascinating study. Trees may be pruned to make inviting crotches, 
and a dark tangle of bushes overgrown 
. in i • Alas, dear friend, that, all my days, 
with Vines and sunflowers, dense lilac Hast poured from that" syringa 
... . thicket 
bushes or a “ svrillga thicket,” will be The quaintly discontinuous lays 
To which I hold a season ticket. 
sure to attract catbirds, brown thrashers 
. ^ .A season ticket cheaply bought 
and some others. Bird houses furnish With a dessert of pilfered berries, 
. And who so oft my soul hast caught 
homes for wrens, bluebirds, chickadees, with morn and evening voluntaries. 
— Lowell , Nightingale in The Study. 
tree swallows and purple martins, but 
here, again, English sparrows are the omnipresent nuisance and must 
be served frequent notice to quit the premises. The proper size for 
a bird house is six inches square floor space and eight inches high, 
and houses of more than one compartment may be made by cutting 
