The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-23
Sv1IHl ATTRACT DESIRABLE BIRD Ezd'llaan IsandIord of Bird House WII1 Find That His Feathered Tenants
 More Than Pay Their Rent.

G tomato can with a circular piece Of board fitted in one end will make an excellent house to attract bIuebirds or Wrena The board should have a hole in its upper half to serve as an sentfanca and the can may then be lsIzn by wires to the limb of a tree or fastened to crotch. A new farm CTS bulletin No. 6O9). entitled s.Bird Houses and How to Build Them, has been issued by the U. s. Departm ent1 of AgricuIture, and in 1t are outlined plans for bird houses of all descrsp- house to a most elaborate martin house with doors that open and close.
 Many birds that are economically valuable. says the new bulletin ms y be attracted to particular localities by the construction of bird houses Tho 1rnportance of birds as insect destroy CTS Is being more appreciated every year and as a, result there has been decided movement to protect and make neighbors of them. Many birds if furnished a safe retreat, will more than pay their rent to their landlords
 The tomato can may be used in an other manner to attract the desirable wren or bluebird. One end may be removed and the can may be super imposed on post of the same size and fastened securely by pressing it down A hole should be cut in the side to permit the bird to enter 6See fig. 9 Of accompanying bulletin j. s This tomato- 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 entrances Is in the side
 and there is a drain hole made in the bottom piece of wire through the neck for mounting 1t completes the house A number of gourds thus pre- pared and strung on a. pole with a
 cross piece seems to make a satisfac-
 tory tenement house for a coIony Of
 martins Used singly they are equally well adaptede to wrens and bIuebirds While gourds are not durable when exposed tothe weather, they are easily replaced (See figs and 4 of accom-
 panying bulletine.
 Ordinary wooden boxes, if clean can be made into simple bird houses 1 by merely mailing on a. cover and cut l ting out an entrance hole. Such make shifts are rarely weatherproof and are never pleasing to the eye.
 Branches containing real wood becker holes, when obtainable, are perhaps the best attraction that can
 be offered most house birds in the
 breeding season By carefully fitting
 such a branch to a fruit or shade tree it's foreign origin will scarcely be no ticed.
 One house comparatively easy to
 construct 1see fig. of accompanying
 bul1etin1 is suitable for use in trees
 It is made from a log or large branch
 ho11owed 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 1 removable Another way of making
 a log house is to split g. straight
 grained log 2 feet or more in length l through the middle and then cut out a cavity with a gouge. The encava.- tfons in the two halves can be made
 to match exactly by means of a pat 1 tern or template having the size and shape desired for the proposed cavity through the plane of cleavage. Fig.
 of accompanying bulletin shows the appearance of such a houSe and how
 to place the template syInmetrica11y on each half of the sticIx1. The top
 of this house should be covered with
 a tin or zinc to keep out moisture. The halves should be fastened to- l gether with screws to allow the house to be taken apart and cleaned.