WREN 
Material Required 
Lumber—White 
pine or cypress. 
Pieces 
Finished Sizes 
Use 
1 
h"x6 " xlO^" 
Back 
2 
y 8 "x3%"x6y 2 "_ 
Sides 
1 
^"x4M"x6" 
Front 
.1 
%"£5%"x7" 
Roof 
1 
y 8 " x 3y 8 "x5M" 
Bottom 
1 
5%"x7" 
Roofing 
134 inch brads or shingle nails. 
Tools—Rule, pencil, trysquare, saw, plane, marking gauge, brace, % 
inch and Y 2 inch auger bits, hammer, and screwdriver. 
Construction 
Cut out each piece rough and plane both sides smooth, plane both edges 
straight and both ends square. 
After cutting out and squaring the stock to the finished sizes, mark each 
piece as shown in the drawing—saw and plane each piece to the correct 
shape. 
The entrance hole in the front must be n / 8 inch in diameter, which is the 
correct size for a wren. If made larger the sparrows can get in and destroy 
the wren family. 
Don’t forget the one-half inch ventilation hole in the top part of the 
front piece and sides. 
Assembling 
1. Nail sides to back of house one inch below the top end of the back 
and even with the outside edge; nails should be driven thru the back of 
the house into the sides. 
2. Fit the bottom of the house between the sides and nail into place, 
keeping it even with the bottom ends of the two sides. 
HOUSE 
3. It is better to bore the entrance and ventilation holes before nailing 
the front to the house. Be sure and have the bottom edge even with the 
bottom of house and both ends even with the outside edge of the sides. 
4. Now carefully fit on the roof. The roof must be left loose, so the 
house can be cleaned. It can be made removable, either by hinges at the 
top edge or fastened on with a few one inch screws. 
Finishing 
The house is now ready for staining or painting and when finished should 
be nailed on a tree, post, or on the side of the house or barn about ten feet 
from the ground. If the house is fastened to a tree or post, a guard of some 
kind should be rigged up about two feet beneath the house, so the birds 
will not be disturbed by the cats. 
If the house is covered with bark from birch tree and the roof covered 
with rubberoid or any manufactured roofing it is liable to be more attrac¬ 
tive to the birds than a freshly painted house. Birds will not use a house 
that has an odor of fresh paint about it. Never paint or stain the inside 
of the house if you expect to get a tenant this year. 
The U. S. Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C., has issued 
several bulletins on bird life under the following numbers: 
Circulars No. 56, 61; Farmers Bulletins No. 51+, 456, 497; Bulletins No. 
9, 15, 21, 23, 24; and Bulletins entitled “ How Birds Affect the Orchard” and 
“Birds as Weed Destroyers.'’ 
The National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York, 
N. Y., has issued several leaflets under the following numbers, which tell about 
birds, their habits, feeding, etc. 
Leaflets Nos. 1 to SO, both inclusive; Special Leaflets Nos. 6, 14, 18, and 
a Bulletin entitled “The Audubon Societies in Relation to the Farmer.” 
Several of the Agricultural Colleges of the various states have issued simi¬ 
lar bulletins, such as — 
Bulletin No. 130 by the Kentucky Experimental Station, Lexington, Ky. 
Cornell Rural School Leaflet, Vol. 6, No. 2, Ithaca, N. Y. Bulletin No. 250 
by the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio. 
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