Evening star., 1948-09-07
This and That
By Charles Z. Trace1pell
ID STREET. 8

ID STREET, 3. T..
II too, am a bird lover
For good many years have maintained
q two by four feeding station.
Result Is, my back yard is filled with sun
flowers What I would now like to know is
some method by, which can save the seeds
for the coming winter.
Yours truly, c. D. M"
sunfower seed from home grown plants
should be placed in the sunshine for few
hours, or days, according to the strength of
the sun and the relative humidity.
little attention to the summing place is in
order. so that one is not caught as was a
certain person, who brought guests around to
see his sunnoWer seed ripening. 9
When they went out into the yard they
discovered that squirrels had been there before
them. Just few seeds were left along with
many fine husks
Squirrels like them moist or dry
These rodents do not mind the seeds un-
ripened. We have watched them clean up the
seeds from growing plants, when the seeds
were in condition scarcely good for eating.
The squirrels ate them, anyway.
So it is essential in putting the seeds out to
sun, to establish squirrel watch.
A good place is on window SILL provided the
rodents are not in the habit of jumping up.
Do not forget that squirrels can climb almost
any brick wall.
Inside sunny window will do since it is
the combination of heat and air that does it.
Tanning rays are not essential
After the seeds seem dry, place them in
paper bags or tin cans with good lids, or wide
mouthed glass jars with secure tops
ALBUQUERQUE N. Mex.
Have enjoyed your column through the
kindness Of a neighbor, but nowhere did I
read how and what to feed hummingbirds.
Have tried several things-am now trying
honey and water in a test tube-but no luck.
Have you any advice to offer?
please send me anything you have on the
subject.
Thank you, your friend, w. c. H."
There are on the market colored tubes, with
fared mouths.
These are designed for attracting hummers,
and usually do pretty good job, If suspended
in shrubbery.
Those colored red and pink seem to offer the
The bait is either sugar and water, or honey
and water
This sweet offering in not so much to the
hummingbirds as 1t Is for tiny insects. The
insects crawl in, and these attract the hum
mers.
AL bell-shaped flowers, particularly those
in red and pink, draw hummingbirds The
petunia is one and the gladiolus another.
Trumpet vine flowers are great favorites.
The mimosa tree In flower is another hum
mingbird lure.
There is nothing nicer, in the nature line,
than q window box of Rosy Morn petunias.
Then one will have hummers at the win
dow all day long. II the box is outside a
dining alcove, birds and humans eat side by
side, to the good of all.
If the glass tubes are used, care must be
taken not to keep them too clean. Sometimes
people resent the crawling insects, but these are
exactly what the hummers want.
Despite their fragile appearance, the hum
mingbirds are very much birds. They feed
their babies on insects and the smallest worms
The bugs" that like sugar and water may
include ants. These are so much grist to the
hummer mill. Though the smallest of our
| birds the hummers are brave and fearless
| and have been known to pierce larger birds
with that long bill. thereby losing their own
lives, but often saving the nest from ma
urauder.
Western Texas New Mexico and Arizona
have several other species Of hummers, in ad-
dition to the rubythrost, the only one that
comes to Washington and vicinity