eG he Us Ove BON. B Ute ae. GEN i? 

My feeding tables, and it is well to have several, are simple: Merely 
the round cover of a bushel basket turned upside down leaving the rim 
for perching: the center is fitted with a piece of gray roofing with fine 
gravel sprinkled on it. This is nailed to the top of a post about five feet 
high and placed where branches of bush or tree hang over it. Birds like 
to approach a table by degrees and have an opportunity to observe what 
is there before committing themselves to an invitation to dine. A small 
dish of water is always present even with pools and bathing places 
accessible in other places. 
Ground corn, wheat and other grains, sold as fine chicken feed, are 
heaped on the table, with plenty of sunflower seeds for the cardinals. 
Scraps from our own table of all kinds are added and a season’s testing 
proved that cottage cheese is liked best of all. I have even bought milk 
and made quarts of it for the birds. 
One day a Blackbird alighted and gave a nervous hop at the sight of 
some macaroni. After edging about, he picked at’it tentatively and 
aggressively, liked it, and flew off to his family with as much as he could 
carry dangling from his bill. Some birds like bits of fat and there are 
bacon rinds tied around a branch which the Woodpecker riddles with 
holes; also bits of suet in early spring and fall are acceptable, not for- 
getting apples and other fruits before they are ripe in the orchard. 
If you want Goldfinches “‘chick-o-reeing” all about your place, plant 
plenty of sunflowers and hear the birds calling each other “‘ba-bee”’ 
when the seeds are ripe. The flowers are miniature suns and light a 
garden with cheerfulness even before the drooping heads are decorated 
with yellow birds. | 
Many seasons of observation convince me that we have no monopoly 
of so-called human traits such as are called into play by daily contacts 
in life. The birds know them all and display most of them when they 
dine. 
BerTuHa E. Jacques, 
Chicago, Illinois. 
