. Circular. Agriculture. we are to be suited. Therefore in building a nesting box it is well to inquire first what kind of a home the bird naturally chooses. As the hollow trunk or limb, or the abandoned woodpecker's nest, is the usual domicile chosen by the hole-nesting birds, it is natural to conclude that they will prefer something closely resembling nature's accommodations. For this pur- pose a section of a tree, containing an old nest of a Avoodpecker may be taken, or hollow limbs, pruned from apple or other trees, may be sawed into sec- tions about a foot in length, the lower end of each
. Circular. Agriculture. we are to be suited. Therefore in building a nesting box it is well to inquire first what kind of a home the bird naturally chooses. As the hollow trunk or limb, or the abandoned woodpecker's nest, is the usual domicile chosen by the hole-nesting birds, it is natural to conclude that they will prefer something closely resembling nature's accommodations. For this pur- pose a section of a tree, containing an old nest of a Avoodpecker may be taken, or hollow limbs, pruned from apple or other trees, may be sawed into sec- tions about a foot in length, the lower end of each plugged, and the upper end covered with an over- hanging piece of board sloping to the front. A hole may be bored in the front of this contrivance for an entrance, and a piece of board may be Fig. 1.—Hollow nailed on the back (Fig. 1), so that the box when finished may be nailed up to a tree, post or pole. The hollow of the limb should not be less than 3j to 4 inches in diameter at the bottom, and 6 to 8 inches in depth below the entrance. The deeper the box and the higher the hole under the overhang of the roof, the less chance there will be for cats, jays and the other larger enemies of birds to reach the eggs or young. Perches are not necessary. Some birds like them, but they give the enemies of the birds the advantage of a better foothold. Neat boxes may be made of slabs with the bark on (Fig. 2), but all bark left on bird houses should be firmly nailed on, as otherwise it will come off sooner or later. In "Bird Lore" for January-February, 1905, I described the method of making bark boxes, but at that time they were untried. They have since had nine seasons' trial, with very satisfactory results. To Mr. William Brewster belongs the credit of their inven- tion, and I have made a considerable number after his design. White birch and chestnut were used, as it was believed that the bark of these trees would be most durable, but Mr. Brewster suggests that elm bark i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
