Part 2

The score card is as follows:

Fitness to purpose 50% Skill in Workmanship 30% Appearance, design, color 20% ———— Total 100%

Each judge marks individually on the tally and the box whose score is highest in the estimation of all, receives first and so on through all the prizes.

Sometimes the pupils judge the display beforehand and compare their results with those of the selected judges, and it has proven generally that boys and girls will use very excellent judgment in selecting the winners.

The prizes are usually tools, good books, and thrift stamps, and this annual event is looked forward to with keen anticipation by the youthful designers.

Figs. 4 and 5 show exhibits at the local museum for the past two years.

Fig. 6 shows a group of prize winners.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show collections of houses made during the past four years.

Fig. 10 shows one prize winner with his house hollowed from a piece of birch limb.

BIRD HOUSE DAY.

After the prize winners have been announced a day is set for all who are interested, to gather at the Museum, and with nails, hammers, wire and step ladder, together with the Bird Boxes start out to place the houses in position. Fig. 11 shows a group about to start. Fig. 12 gives a view of the boys placing a house in a tree.

BIRD ENEMIES.

Our bird friends have much to contend with in raising their broods, and it is here we can render them valuable assistance.

The cat, the greatest enemy of birds, must be attended to diplomatically.

The shot gun method will not do here or we may find ourselves haled into court upon the complaint of some neighbor.

The best way is to guard the tree trunks with tin as suggested in several ways in Plate 19. For tramp cats, having no home or owner, the trap shown in the same plate will be found efficient.

Spikes may be driven in part way about a pole so that the row of heads prevent the cats getting by.

English Sparrows are another sworn enemy of our song birds and they should be exterminated in every way possible.

Traps, air guns and any other means, no matter how diabolical, are all too good for this feathered pest. Their nests should be pulled down and the young destroyed whenever and wherever found. They are persistent and must be continuously harassed.

Squirrels and snakes also steal both the eggs and the young and they should be driven from localities frequented by birds.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR STARTING WORK ON THE BIRD BOXES.

First decide upon the bird for which your house is to be made and, referring to the drawings, select the one which best suits your fancy.

Look the various pieces over and estimate about how much lumber will be required, then plan your work so as to cut your board with as little waste as possible. Take pieces of a similar width and get them out in one long piece from your board.

Plane one edge of the board straight and smooth and call this the working edge, or edge from which all measurements are to be taken. Square one end square with the working edge and the surface. Measure from this square end, the length specified on the drawing, and square a line across the board, placing the try square handle tight against the working edge.

Next take the cross-cut saw and saw carefully just outside your line on the side away from the piece to be cut off. Plane now back to the line and no further. The width must next be obtained either with a marking gage, if you have one, set at the required distance, or by measuring carefully with your ruler.

Now saw and plane to your line. Treat each piece in this manner and mark with its proper letter, to be ready for assembling later.

We shall consider, for illustration, that we are making the Blue Bird House shown in Plate 3. We have our pieces all cut out and numbered and shall now cut the shape of pieces A, which are the front and rear of the house, from our pieces that we have previously cut 8½ inches wide by 10 inches long.

Find the center of one end, which will be one-half of 8½ inches or 4¼ inches. Measure down on each side 4 inches and draw from our edge center to these points.

Find the center of our bottom edge next and measure 2½ inches each side to make our bottom edge 5 inches wide, as shown. Draw from the ends of this 5 inch lines to our points on the sides and we are ready to carefully cut out the form as shown in the drawing. Always remember when sawing to a line to leave about 1/16 inch between our saw cut and the line and finish with a plane to the line.

Be sure that the front and rear pieces are exactly the same size and shape to insure our house going together nicely later.

Take the bottom piece E and draw light lines from corner to corner, and with a dot locate the points where we are to bore our drainage holes.

In boring these take care not to split through on the opposite side.

Locate the holes for ventilation next and bore these carefully.

Take our back brace F next and draw a light pencil line from end to end, through the center, and locate the holes for nailing to the tree 1 inch in from either end. The holes for screwing piece F to the box are 3½ inches beyond these outer holes. Bore carefully.

Bore the entrance hole with an expansive bit set so as to bore a hole 1½ inch in diameter. The center for this hole is 3 inches down from the top and 4¼ inches from either side.

If the house is to be painted it should be thoroughly sandpapered with No. ½ sandpaper, going with the grain.

Take the sides and bevel them to fit the front and back pieces, that is plane them so that when they are placed in proper position against the front and rear, the edges will follow the same sweep as the eaves and the bottom edge. All cutting should be finished before sandpapering so as not to dull our plane blade with the fine particles of sand left in the wood by the sandpaper.

Nail the sides to the front and rear, using 1¼ inch brads, placing about five on each edge, and taking care that they strike fair in the center of the edge to prevent splitting.

Next nail on roof C, having the rear edge flush with the rear of the box allowing all projection to come in front. Have ridge edge just level with peak. Next nail on roof B, seeing that it overlaps and is nailed to the edge of C.

Next attach piece F to the rear of the box with screws, allowing equal projection above and below the box. Take the bottom E and screw on an inch butt hinge to the under side at the middle point of the rear edge. Then place in position and screw the other part of hinge to F, taking care that the bottom fits tightly against the bottom edges of the box.

Retain in front by means of a small flat hook and eye as shown.

Our box is now ready to be either painted or covered with bark as desired.

If it is to be bark covered use a pair of snip shears to cut the bark to the size required. It is generally a good plan to cut the bark a little large and trim off after attaching it to the box. Use 4 oz. tacks, using as few as possible. Have the bark run uniformly in the same direction over the box. Bark directly over all holes and when finished cut these out with a sharp knife.

If a house is to be painted and have a bark roof only, paint first and allow to dry, perhaps giving a second coat and then place the bark on the roof.

This same method of construction as described will be practically the same for any of the houses shown.

Lumber should be used that will withstand the weather. Cypress, spruce and soft pine are perhaps the best.

WINTER CARE OF THE BIRDS.

If you wish to attract birds about the house during the winter, do not wait until the ground is covered with snow, but begin in the Fall to scatter hayseed from the barn or stable floor, on the bare ground about the yard.

Millet or any bird seed will do as well. Hang some pieces of suet or beef-trimmings on the branches of the trees beyond the reach of cats and dogs. If at first these pieces are widely scattered at points radiating from the house as a center, your success should be assured. Your lures will keep best at this season if tied on the shade side of a tree trunk; but later in the winter they should be put on the sunny side. They should be well wound to limbs with twine, or covered with wire netting, so that neither jays or crows can carry them off bodily.

They are now ready to attract and hold birds that might otherwise pass on to the south. The birds may not find the food at once, but usually they will find it sooner or later. When the chickadees have discovered it we are ready for the next move.

Fresh meat or suet is now put up on the trees nearest the house, to accustom the birds to coming there.

Many types of feeders can be made, varying the plain wood shelf, to the artistic food shelters of natural limbs and bark. Some feeders can be placed on movable pivots on poles with extended vanes in front so that the wind will always cause them to be in a sheltered position. This type of feeding shelf, Fig. 4, and others are shown on Plate 20.

The window shelf shown on Plate 20, Fig. 1, is convenient and can be easily watched and tended. Fig. 2 shows a feeding stick. Melted suet is poured into the holes and allowed to cool and the birds eat from the outside.

The cocoanut larder is inexpensive and easily set up. One end of a cocoanut is broken in as shown and the birds have access to the meat. Fig. 4 is one type of rustic feeder which has proven popular.

The following birds have been attracted about local feeders: Chickadees, Fig. 3, nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos, and even the wary jay. Figure 13 shows a simple form of feeding shelf with sides of glass. A hairy woodpecker can be seen just below the upper box.

Corn, suet, scraps of meat, crumbs from the table, pieces of doughnut, nuts, sunflower seed, frozen milk and many other food materials may be utilized, if one wishes to experiment.

These methods of attracting and domesticating the birds will be found full of interest, and in some cases our efforts will be rewarded by having some little feathered ball jump fearlessly on our fingers for a choice titbit.

The birds will furnish instruction and amusement to the household throughout the year and a vast amount of good may be accomplished in this manner, adding greatly to the comfort and happiness of our wild bird friends.

DESIGNS FOR BIRD HOUSES