The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-12
FORD GOES TO SEE
PLAN START TO-DAY
Auto Manufacturer to Be in De-
trOit When 100000 900
Distribution Begins.
TALKS OF HIS FAD-BIRDS
His Michigan Farm n Very Com
Portable Place for His
Winged Friends.
TALKS OF HIS FAD-B1RDS


Henry Ford. accompanied by his wife
and his son. Edsall p. Ford, left the
Grand Central station on the Wolverine
At 5 O'Clock yesterday afternoon for home.
The train is due in Detroit at ! rs this
morning. which will get MIR. Ford to his
factory in ample time to witness the
Introduction Of his twofod plan. the
profit sharing scheme which will make
his employees 10000 900 richer at the
end Of "A year and the eight hour shift
in place of the present nine hour day.
II don't have To be there" Mr.. Ford
said yesterday Everything would start
OF all right whether was there or not
But naturally want to be on hand my
self"
The automobile manufacturer will re-
turn to New York about February IS and
with his family will leave New York
about February 81 for a months stay
with Thomas \. Edison at Mr. Edison's
winter home near Fort Myer. Florida.
Mr.. Ford broke his usual custom OF
letting the newspaper men do all the
talking yesterday by volunteering his APP
probation Of Thomas A. Edisons estimate
OF the Ford profit sharing plan
Ford says Edison Ia Right.
Mr. Edison gives the true explanation
Of why ". are able to inaugurate this
plan" he said MIR Edison for years
has been working along the lines OF
efficiency in manufacture which make our
plan possible. He was one of the pio-
neers in this efficiency work"
This burst of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. nifty
words-donc with. the silent man from
Detroit waited for the interviewers to
take IN their task Of asking questions.
BY a lucky chance one of the first ques-
tons asked had 10 do with birds. and the
man who has discussed giving away &c.
600 900 in "A dry. matter of fact manner
Immediately became animated. Birds are
his fad--about the only fad he has except
work.
He said happily that he expected part
OF the English birds which he sent over
when abroad last spring to be back on his
farm when warm weather comes again.
They are now In the South. The original
Importation consisted OF $50 birds. There
were six varieties-linnets, thrushes. bull
inches blackbirds. skylarks and chat
hnches These birds arrived in Detroit
on April and were Immediately released
on Mr.. Ford's $500 acre farm six or
eight miles west OF Detroit. The farm
already was lnnaDlteu Dy large NUMBERS
OF American birds. who appreciate Mr..
Ford's treatment OF them. In bringing
over the English birds II was not Mr..
Ford's idea to stock his own farm par
ticularly, since the birds are under no
restraint, but TO introduce these varieties
In America and. II possible. to add them
to the list Of American birds.
at was too late for the larks TO nest
last spring" Mr.. Ford said yesterday.
John Burroughs told me that. But the
others nested and Mr. Burroughs says
that those which nested will come back
next spring
Burroughs and Edison His Heroes.
John burroughs. the naturalist. &C.
cupies niche In Mr. Fords gallery Of
heroes by the side Of that occupied by
Thomas \. Edison. And the automobile
manufacturers two heroes also happen 10
be two Of his best friends.
The birds on Mr. Fords farm fare
almost as well as the employees in his
scheme There are 1000 bird houses scat
tered over the farm. Some OF these are
little one family affairs for the wrens
bluebirds. chickadees and the rest OF the
bird neighbors who prefer detached
houses. The houses vary in size from
these tiny boxes To large bird apartment
houses, each accommodating seventy two
families Of purple martins.
One Of the drawbacks to the Detroit
farm as q paradise for birds in It's early
days was the freezing over of the brooks
In winter so that the birds had trouble
finding water 10 drink. Mr. Ford RENE
died this by constructing little drinking
troughs OF metal with electric heaters
under them to keep the water above freex-
ing point in the coolest weather. The
Ford farm has its own electric plant,
driven by the Detroit River, so. to Mr..
Ford, this was simple matter.
Mr.. Ford said he could get along with
out n calendar in the spring. determining
the dates from the return OF the various
kinds of birds from their winter trim
South The bobolinks. he said. he had
found particularly reliable. reaching his
farm regularly on May .
Automatic Feeder for birds.
The birds are fed all winter from au-
tomato feeders These are so arranged
that two or three bushels of grain can he
put In hopper at one time. the grain
running down tube ON a wooden table
as fast as the birds eat It. Thus there
is no waste and there always IL an ample
supply Of food Observation-Disclosures efii-
cheney applied to the feeding Of wild birds
I'm winter. Not all of Mr.. Fords nomi-
nally wild birds are wild. however. He
said yesterday that some of the English
importation became so tame during the
summer that they would come up to him
and let him stroke their bills.
He was asked how long he had been
interested in birds.
my earliest memory of anything" he
replied lis of my father taking me. when
] was 3ia years old to see birds nest
My younger brother was then "A year and
q half old and We had To help him walk.
The bird on the nest was "A song sparrow
and was able from then to tell a song
sparrow VIII II I saw one. never have
Gagged birds. Don't believe In II. And I
never AK b. kept other animal pets
that had 10 be Gagged or tied. ] don't be-
lieve in picking flowers ether like TO
see them grow.
II happened that from Mr.. FOrd's room
in the Hotel Belmont he could look across
the East River to his Long Island City
assembling plant. This factory, orig
inally built two years ago an "A three story
structure, was increased to an eight story
building and ground will he broken about
March for an eight story addition, COW
ering "a plot S15 by 100 feet.
$2,478 RAISED FOR HOSPITALS.