Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-02-25
BIRD NEIoHBORs.
How One BrRttIebOrO Woman Has CuI-
uvated their Acquaintance and Won
their Confidence.

How One BrsttIeboro Woman Has CuI-
tivated their Acquaintance and Won
their Confidence.
The following extract is taken from the
Introductory pages of a new bird book
just published by Houghton, MillIn g. Co.,
| Boston:
''In the summer it is a very simple mat
ter to keep the birds about us by supplying
the necessary conditions; but people who
live in the country can get more pleasure
from the companionship of birds in winter
than summer, and the question is how to
draw the winter ones from the woods. 1t
can be done very easily by taking a little
pains TO feed them.
"Bones and a few pieces of suet or the
fat of fresh pork nailed to a tree are enough
to attract chickadees, nuthatches, wood
peckers, and blue jays and a rind of salt
pork will draw the salt-eating crossbills
when they are in the neighborhood For
food that can be blown away or showed
under-such as grain, or crumbs from the
Tablet is well to nail up boxes with
open fronts, placing them with the back
TO the prevailing wind. As some birds
prefer to feed on the ground, it is a good
thing 70 keep a space clear of snow under
window, from which food can be thrown
without disturbing them: shy birds like
grouse will come more freely to corn or
buckwheat scattered on a barrel under the
cover OF an evergreen. A window shelf
protected by an awning is also an admirable
thing.
"Most of these devices have been en-
ployed with great success by Mrs. A. c.
Davenport, in Brattleboro, Vermont. She
has fed the birds hemp seed, SUM- flower
Gra III
AS wheat bread freezes quickly in very
cold weather she uses bread made from
one third wheat and two thirds Indian
meal
Her flock, during the winter of 1s9j-9G,
included, as daily visitors, seven to ten
blue jays, more than 20 chickadees, three
downy woodpeckers, one hairy woodpecker,
three nuthatches, more than 40 tree spar
rows, and one junco. After the first of
February new recruits joined her band
more juncos, song sparrows, fox sParrows,
redpoll linnet, and two red-breasted nut
matches; and in March swamp sparrow
came. A flock of siskns were so tame
that when the seed she threw to them
ratified on their backs, they merely shook
themselves. In March a flock of tree
sparrows sang so cheerfully their chorus
made the March morning like June
Before the snow had gone purple finches
came, and they remained all summer. On
June 10, 1896, the birds that came were
purple fnches, downy woolpeckers, nut
matches, robins, orioles, blue jays, chipping
sparrows, and sometimes scarlet tanager
or thrush. Then followed the interest
Of the nesting season, when the old birds
brought their broods to the house to drink
and bathe. Altogether the response to
10 nj fal tfx off ha hirle
eager that throughout the year the family
almost never had meal by daylight with
out the presence of birds on the window
shelf.
The pleasure Mrs. Davenport gets from
her flock is particularly worthy of record,
because it is open TO such large number
of bird-lovers at the cost of little trouble,
and, as she herself tells us, however
much one may do for the birds, that which
comes in the doing is a revelation of
sources of happiness not before sus-
pected.'"
Neighbors and intimate friends have
known OF Mrs. DaveDports success in cul-
tivating the acquaintance of her bird
neighbors and this story of it will be read
with interest by a still wider circle. Per-
haps Brattleboro has never come into
prominence in more agreeable way than
this.
The author of the book is Miss Florence
A. Merriam. Her preface bears date at
Washington, D. c., but We believe the
family homestead is in Northern New
York. Her brother, DR.. c. Hart Merriam,
is chief of the biological survey of the de-
velopment of agriculture at Washington.
She has given the enthusiastic and pains
taking study of bird-lover to her subject,
and she has probably succeeded in making
the best book yet published for beginners
in bird study.
The full title of the book is "Birds of
Village and Field; a Bird Book for Be-
ginners." 1t is illustrated with pen and
ink drawings and has a field color key
which is especially useful in discovering
The name and identity of any bird stranger.