38 THE AUDUBON BULL EEEN 
Photograph by Benj. T. Gault 
THE HOUSE THAT GAULT BUILT 
The doors or entrance holes into the chambers should not be made 
too large. “They should be about one and three-quarters of an inch, both 
in width and height, the top rounded and the edges all the way round 
rasped in order to remove square edges. Martins like to have the entrance- 
ways fit their bodies fairly snug as they serve to keep out large intruders. 
In the centre of each chamber ceiling a hole of about one inch diameter | 
for ventilation was bored, leading into the attic above. “These with the 
three inch circular openings at both gable-ends of the house complete the 
scheme of ventilation. “he latter should be covered on the inside with a 
good grade of galvanized wire netting of one-half inch mesh. (See Plate.) 
In my houses another small outside door was used to cover each 
chamber entrance when not in use by the birds. “They can be made either 
of one-half inch wood or galvanized sheeting. “Che latter are preferred, on 
‘account of warping, and look much better if painted the color of the build- 
ing. “They are attached by small brass round-headed screws. 
In remarking again on the pestiferous House Sparrows, the best way I 
found to cope with them was to permit two or three broods to hatch; then 
after a few days destroy both nest and young, which sometimes has a dis- 
couraging effect on the old birds. 
In conclusion, during all the years our Martin colony was in full 
swing, barring some off seasons, our apple orchard yielded excellent fruit; 
but, after the colony had teen discontinued there was quite a different story 
to tell. 3 
In our case we found our Martins to be most valuable, in addition to 
being delightfully interesting birds. Certainly they contributed much 
charm and pleasure to our home. 
