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OFFICIAL ORGAN OF TH'E WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETIES. 
One Year 25 Cents 
Single Copy 3 Cents 
Published by the Wisconsin Audubon Society, at Appleton, Wisconsin. 
Entered as second-class matter May 1(5, 1904 at Appleton, Wis., under the act of Congress of Mar. 3, ’79. 
VOL IX.. 
MARCH, 1907. 
No 9. 
Bird Houses. 
Soon it will be time for bird houses 
and every boy, girl, and adult should 
have one where they can watch the busy 
housekeeping of a wren, bluebird, or mar¬ 
tin. It is easier to have a house for wrens 
for then the entrance can be made so 
small that no sparrow can enter and there 
will be no battles fought, where in the 
end you will have to interfere and drive 
out the sparrows. There are as many 
styles of architecture in this line as there 
are boys who build the houses. There 
is the starch box with a small round hole 
cut in it and nailed to a tree or porch. 
I saw two broods raised in a peach bas¬ 
ket nailed up inside of a woodshed and 
the old birds entered through a hole in 
the side of the shed, and year after year 
two wrens built in a china tea pot which 
! had had its spout removed, and nothing 
could have made a cosier home, for it 
was hung in the thick vines on the porch. 
Last year the New London Press printed 
the directions for some very elaborate 
ones, a few of which I will describe here. 
The first is constructed of a flower pot, 
I secured to the wall which without further 
adornment does admirably for a wall 
covered with creepers. The simplest 
method of making them is to fasten a 
five-inch pot against a brick wall. The 
drain hole of the pot is enlarged by chip¬ 
ping off a small piece at a time with the 
I sharp end of a file, but to do this suc¬ 
cessfully the pot must besoaked in water 
for one hour, or the plaster will not ad¬ 
here. If the pot is an old one it must be 
thoroughly scrubbed with a stiff' brush 
in warm water to remove all vegetable 
growths. Before applying the plaster 
to the rim of the pot and against the wall, 
the wall must be thoroughly moistened 
or the plaster will not adhere. When 
applying the plaster about the rim of the 
pot and against the wall, use it thick and 
pasty and apply rapidly. After the 
plaster has set, the board prop is removed 
and work on another pot begun. When 
all are in position the plaster is given six 
hours to harden and dry before putting 
on the rough ornamental coating, as the 
weight of this might break away the pots 
from the wall. This rough coating is 
applied with an old tea or tablespoon 
well greased with lard to prevent the 
plaster from adhering to the spoon. 
When applying the plaster small living 
branches of vines can be imbedded in the 
plaster, and before the entrance a small 
twig or rustic branch is fastened for a 
perch. 
After the plaster is thoroughly dry two 
heavv coats of boiled linseed oil mixed 
with a dryer is applied. The oil pro¬ 
tects the plaster from the actions of the 
rains and the atmosphere. The pots can 
be painted with a dull green or any of 
the grays or browns of our various earths. 
Lichens and mosses can be fastened to 
the houses by embedding them in the 
plaster when it is soft. If the pot is to 
