1884.] 
the AMERICAN GARDEN. 
Ill 
bird homes, 
Blue-birds, martens, wrens, and the Euro¬ 
pean sparrow, will all oecnpy houses built 
for them, seeming to prefer to be near oiu- 
homes and to court our protection. 
When traveling along our Eastern coast 
hue, from Now York to Maine, says A. W. 
Eoberts, in the Young Scientist, I found the 
European sparrow everywhere, oven at 
•Grand Moiian; and I was much amused at 
the many crude and comical styles of bird- 
houses in use. Milk cans, butter firldns, 
• old stiaw hats, and discarded bee-hives were 
utilized for this purpose, and in one case a 
farmer had scooped out several hook-necked 
squash and club gourds which he had fas¬ 
tened under the eaves of his barn, for some 
wrens, ivho had taken possession of them. 
The prevailing school of bird-house arehi- 
tectiu'e is very primitive and very ugly. 
. And, as if to add to their ugliness, they were 
often painted of either a dead white, ultra- 
marine blue, bright green, or yellow, and 
occasionally bright red, and even black. 
None of oim native birds would be guilty of 
ever taking up quarters in a vermilion col¬ 
ored house, but those feathered tramps and 
loafers, the sparrows, ever ready to crawl in¬ 
to any hole or place ’to secure a footing, in 
this instance seemed color blind or indiffer¬ 
ent, so long as they obtained a roof to shelter 
them. 
In painting bird-houses, never use bright 
•or glaring colors or gilding, as it is not only 
in bad taste and not in harmony withnatiu-e, 
but to birds of modest and retiring habits is 
very displeasing. Imagine a pair of our 
plaintive-voiced blue-birds dwelling in a 
bright yellow house! think of their rich blue 
•against a vulgar yellow! Could any combi¬ 
nation of colors be more inharmonious and 
■displeasing to an educated eye ? 
All that birds require is a quiet and secure 
situation for their homes. My father some 
j'ears ago fastened a number of flower-pots 
■against the side of a brick house. The holes 
at the bottom of the pots were made large 
enough for wrens, and too small for blue- 
bh’ds. As a battle had been raging for a 
number of days between the wj ens and a pair 
of blue-birds over the possession of the only 
bu’d-house on the groimds, the flower-pots 
pleased the wrens, who took immediate pos¬ 
session, and ceased their wai’fare on their 
neighbors. 
I have since used flower-pots extensively 
in constructing bu’d-houses, and will try to 
give the readers my experience as a bird- 
house builder. 
The simplest plan is to fasten a seven-inch 
pot against a stone wall; a hole is cut out of 
the bottom of the pot large enough to admit 
of either wrens or sparrows. For cutting the 
hole, use the large blade of a jack-knife, 
well notched, and soften the ware thoi’oughly 
with water. This reduces friction, and pre¬ 
vents clogging, or drawing the temper 
blade. The hole, after it is cut, can be med 
to any desired shape. The pot is e 
against the wall where it is to be fastene y 
leaning a post or board against it. ,, -p . 
For a cement for fastening, plaster of Pans 
is to be preferred to Portland oemen or 
light work, and also for its quick se mg 
qualities, which may be Imstoncd by adding 
a little salt. Ihe plaster should be applied 
rapidly about the rim of the pot, and a^hist 
the wall, till a perfect union is formed. The 
pot and the wall must be first dampened with 
water, or the plaster will not adliere. 
-^ter the plaster has set, the board prop is 
wthdrawn, and work on another pot begun. 
V^ionall the pots are fastened in position, 
the plaster is given twenty-four liours to dry 
and harden before putting on the rough coat¬ 
ing, as the weight of this coating might 
break away the pots. The rough coating is 
applied with a broad-bladod table-knife, or 
pomting” trowel. Load the trowel with 
plaster, witli the left hand urging the flow 
of the plaster from the point of the trowel 
with a stick, the point of wliich has been 
well gi'eased or soaked in oil, to prevent the 
plaster adhering and forming a knob. 
When it is desired to make the bird-houses 
look more picturesque, pieces of lichens and 
wood mosses may be fastened on with plas¬ 
ter; small branches of vines may also be 
brought down and around the pot, and for a 
perch or rest in front of the entrance, a dead 
twig or branch m.ay be used. These are also 
fastened to the pot with plaster. 
After the plaster is perfectly dry, it should 
get a heavy coat of boiled linseed oil, mixed 
with a dull green, brown, or neutral tint, 
The oil protects the plaster from the action 
of r.ain and the atmosphere. 
A hanging bird-house may be constructed 
of a nine-inch flower-pot and an old milk- 
pan. A hole is made in the bottom of the pot 
and pan large enough for a tui-ned picket or 
stick to pass through, and to allow for the 
fastening of the straw which is to form the 
thatched roof. A hole is bored thi’ough the 
picket into which a cross-pin of wood or iron 
is inserted, on which the bottom of the pan 
rests, otherwise it and the pot would sliji off. 
The milk-pan is punched full of holes to 
allow the plaster to pass through and clinch, 
as it will not adhere to the smooth siu'faee 
of the tin. In appljdng the plaster to the 
pot, an extra quantity is used on the iimer 
bottom of the pan, to more firmly luiite the 
pot and pan together. After the plaster has 
hardened, the rough coating is applied as 
before described. The pan, after it is filled 
with earth, is planted with Tradeseantia, 
Gennau Ivy, or Madeii’a Vines, which will 
cling and twine to the brush cat-screen. 
Some of the more hardy succulent plants, 
such as House Leeks, Creeping Charley, 
Semper-virnim, etc. may also be used. 
The cat-screen is made of the branches of 
black alder firmly boimd to the picket, some 
two feet below the bottom of the pan, 
against which they press and radiate out, 
forming an effectual obstruction to oats, as 
well as looking very ornamental when the 
vines are growing among the mass of 
branches, buds, and burrs. The best and 
•most ornamental woods for making these 
screens are Bed Birch (with the cones on), 
Si>ruoe ■with its rich buds, and Sweet Gum 
Tree, all very pliable, and easy to handle. 
Where a number of pots and pans are to 
be fastened together, great care must be 
taken to firmly unite the parts together with 
a bountiful quantity of plaster, laid on thick. 
Much taste and skill can be displayed in the 
different designs formed on the pots with the 
plaster, but care must be taken to have them 
in good taste and in keeping with the sui’- 
roundings. 
THE OOUNTET PIAZZA. 
The piazza, veranda, or porch of a house 
can scarcely be called an “interior” ; but to 
the country-house it is really an outdoor 
parlor in warm weather, and should be made 
as attractive as possible. It is sometimes so 
cramped in its proportions as to offer little 
opportunity for decorative improvements— 
but, with a reasonable amount of space, it 
can be made a very delightful adjunct to the 
country sitting-room. 
If large enoirgh to admit such a piece of 
fm-niture, a settee, or rattan lounge will be 
found a most convenient addition, and a 
thin, flat cushion will bo an improvement 
both in looks and in comfort. Scarlet is the 
most effective color for this, as contrasting 
well with the masses of green outside. 
Scarlet painted ehau's have been in vogue 
for rural piazzas for some years past, and 
although a superabundance of the color is 
rather dazzling, it is toned down by the 
baekgi'ound of gi’een. 
Another pretty device for piazza furnish¬ 
ing is to make three or more large pillows of 
very broad-striped bed-ticking, and cover 
the blue stripes alternately udth scarlet and 
green braid. This gives a Moorish or Alge¬ 
rian appearance to the cushions, which are 
to be piled in a corner, and in front of them 
may be spread a cheap Persian or Turkey 
mat—or one made of the same inexpensive 
materials with varied coloring, substantially 
lined, and edged with worsted fringe. 
A rustic table at one end of the piazza to 
hold newspapers and magazines, the writing 
portfolio, or the basket of crewels, looks 
cozy and sociable. A bird-house fastened to 
one of the pillows and draped with light 
vines, is re.ally omamental, and the -winged 
residents, wnth restless flashings in and out, 
and their funny little airs of im 2 iortanee, form 
an endless subject of interest to the invalid 
whose sole view of outside things must be 
taken from the piazza. 
It sometimes happens that one end of this 
roofed balcony is exijosed to a hopeless glare; 
no friendly ti-ee stretches forth protecting 
boughs across it, no vane weaves a web of 
tender green from end to end; the vegetable 
world, for some occult reason, avoids it. An 
awning is the usual resource in such a ease, 
but the striped hood forms only a partial 
screen. A more effective one is formed by 
making a net-work of heavy twine, or ■wire, 
with a square or diamond-shaped opening 
left to form a window; at the base of the 
net-work plant-Cypress and Madeira vines, 
and you will have a shade pleasing and re¬ 
freshing to the eye, covered with verdure 
and bloom, and one that will admit of the air 
freely passing through it. 
Hardy vines upon all sides of the country 
piazza are taken for granted; but the selec¬ 
tion should be made with care. For steady 
wearing qualities, after it has once decided 
to live and gi-ow — and it is somewhat slow 
in coming to this decision— nothing is more' 
satisfactory than the Japanese Ivy. The 
summer foliage is of a rich, tender green, 
and the young leaf-sprays are very fine and 
beautiful; while it has additional recommen¬ 
dation of varied autumn coloring. The 
Evergreen Honeysuckle is another desirable 
■vine for the piazza, while the large, blue 
Clematis Jackmanni is very ornamental. .The 
three combined will make a delightful leafy 
bower .—Ella Rodman Church, in Gpdey’a 
Lady’s Book. 
