Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-06-18

| q bird house may be made OF almost any
size or shape desired. Should you wish
II highly ornamental, nothing is better
than to cover it with rustic work, which
may be done with the aid of wild grape
vine cut in pieces of the right length and
nailed on. Such bird house costs little
or nothing save the time required TO
make it; and this slight expense Will be
amply repaid by the satisfaction OF doing
good deed.
aThere are many simple contrivances
which may be prepared and put up IN i've
minutes. and will serve the birds as well
as ANYTHING else. Al the opening OF the
present season we put up four tin cans,
such as are used for canning tomatoes,
having first filed small hole in the lower
end TO prevent the collection OF water
Three of the four were Immediately
occupied by blue-birds. One pair laid
i've eggs, four of which Matched, and the
young grew 10 maturity. The other two
pairs each had two broods, four eggs to
each brood, and all Matched; but three OF
the young died before growing up.
Seventeen young blue-birds and their
parents, six in number--twenty-th in
sect-eating birds-were thus induced to
make their homes in our orchard, the
parent birds for about five months, and
the young, say, about three months. Ger
tainly, at very low estimate, each bird
would average twenty insects a day; Tor
the food of these birds consists entirely Ct
insects. At this rate the old birds would
have destroyed during their stay here 49,
600 insects and the young 30,6O0-which
gives total of $4,000 insects destroyed
from our own and our neighbors' trees;
and il did not take us half an hour to pre-
pare and put up these simple accommo.
dations. Are not these facts eloquent?
Then how interesting to watch the house
keeping arrangements of these beautiful
little neighbors; to hear their welcome
song when winter seemed still with
us; to hear them debate the situa-
ton, and finally decide in favor OF
our apple tree to see them carrying up
grasses and cotton and feathers, and
weaving them together into bed ofdown
for the protection OF their early-laid eggs;
to watch their love-making, and all their
gentle, affectionate ways toward each
other; their jealousy of intruders, and
their solicitous care of their eggs during
the period of incubation; their final JOY
when the young break the shells and are
born to the light; and their untiring de-
votion in obtaining choice bits of insect
food for the nourishment of their OFT
spring. Truly, here is Beauty at our
door.yard, and Poetry has taken up her
abode in our apple tree.
purple martins, and other members of
the swallow tribe, will readily occupy
boxes put up for their use. Wrens, too,
are interesting friends, and are easily in
duced to settle with us. We know of
case where pair of blue-birds found a
happy home in an old beaver hat which
had blown up and lodged in an apple
tree A good bird-house may be made of
a medium sized flower-pot, with the hole
somewhat enlarged and the top covered
with a board. Will not every one who
has dozen rods of land make a bird
house of some kind, and thus help to re-
store the proper proportions of the feath-
cred and insect races ?"--NeU York E0en-
ing Post.