The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-30
BIRDS WILL PAY FOR
 THEIR HOUSE RENT
Department of Agriculture Tells How to Attract Feath- cred Tenants.

WaSn1ngJons Sept. Z9.-B1rdS will pay their house rent, In fact the feathered creatures will give their hu- man landlords more than the rent of the premises furnished for their hab- station. Working with this as its basis the Department of Agriculture has issued an exhaustive treatise on the building of bird houses and methods adapted to attract birds
 Birds are desirable about the prem Ises not only on account of their beau ty and song, but because of their eco- homie worth," says the bulletin They are especially useful as insect destroy, CTS during the breeding period. when they have to work early and late to obtain food for their nestIings. and their movements at this time are more interesting than during any other sea- son. There is therefore a double purpose in offering them special nest ing facilities"
 According to Ned Dearborn. assist ant biologist of the Department of Az riculture, ordinary tomato can with 8 circular piece of board fitted in one end, will make an excellent .house to attract buebirds or wrens The board should have a hole in it's upper half says the biologist, to serve as an en- trance and the can may then be hung by wires to the limb of a tree or fast ened to 9 crotch.
 The bulletin issued by the depart ment in describing the feasibility of another form of tomato can house and other bird tenements says:
 The tomato can may be used ili ar1- other manner to attract the desirable wren or tbluebird. One end may be re- moved and the can may be superirn- posed on a post of the same size and fastened securely by pressing 1t down. A hole should be cut in the side to permit the bird to enter This tomato can house, as well as the other one described. should always be put in a shaded place as the metal becomes very hot in the sun.
 Simple bird houses have long been made in the Southern States from gourds. The entrance is in the side and there is drain hole made in the bottom. A piece of wire through the neck for mounting it completes the house. number of gourds thus pre- pared and strung on a pole with crosspiece seems to make al satisfac- tory tenement house for colony of martins. Used singly they are uquaI1y we'll adapted to wrens and b1uebirds.
 Ordinary wooden boxes if clean can be made into simple bird houses by merely mailing on cover and cut ting out an entrance hole Such makeshifts are rarely waterproof and are never pleasing to the eye.
 Branches containing real woodpeck-. CT holes when obtainao1e, are perhaps the best attraction that can be offered nose house birds in: the breeding sea- son. By carefully fitting such a. branch to a fruit or shade tree its for eign origin will scarcely be noticed
 One house comparatively easy to construct is suitable for use in trees. It is made from log or large branch holIowed by decay and fitted with a top and bottom. The cover is to go on after the log is fastened In place Either the top or bottom should be
  log house Is to split a straight-g grained log two feet or more in length through the middle and then to cut out a cav ity with a gouge. The excavations in the two halves can be made to match exactly by means of a pattern or template having the size and shape desired for the proposed cavity through the plane of cleavage. The top of this house should be covered with a tin or zinc to keep out n1ois- ture. The halves should be fastened together with screws to allow the house to be taken apart and cleaned.
 In the placing of bird houses, care should be taken to have them face. away from the winds prevailing in stormy weather The strongly de- veIoped homing instincts of birds can be relied on to attach them to the neighborhood where they first saw the light, and the identical pairs which nest in the houses provided for them one year will often return the next season.
 There are other means of attracting one's bird neighbors besides building houses. In winter if they are sup piled food, they will haunt the prem ises and the bulletin gives plans for an adequate shelter where food may be left Tn summer still another means must often be sought to make them sociable On warm days they partic- l11arly appreciate fresh water for drinking and bathing. A shallow pool of varying depth, if only 9 foot across, becomes a. center of attraction for all the birds in the vicinity, and it may be made with little effort and material, only a. small amount of cement is re os1fred or if that be lacking, a pan with stones in it set in the ground will be equally serviceaole-
 Connecticut, who has a number of booklets on Bird Houses and How to Build Then says that he would like to place one of the books in. the hands of every youngster in Fairfield County who would be interested So anyone who would like a full set of plans on how to build bird houses should not fail to drop a. postal card to Congress- man Donovan and let their wants be known.
 GLASSES TOMORROW NIGHT.
 Glasses for ladies and gentlemen, teaching all of the newest dances, will be formed Thursday evening at Quill.