RUSTIC HOUSES.
The first group of houses of this type are shown in Figs. [12], [35] and [36]. These are made of slabs of wood with the bark left on, and in some cases, of the bark alone if it can be secured of sufficient thickness. It is usually a good plan to drive a sufficient number of nails into the bark to keep it in place, otherwise it will drop off. Houses such as these attract birds that would avoid a freshly painted imitation of some large residence or public building. Figs. [20] and [37] show houses made of a section of a tree split or sawed in halves, the nest cavity hollowed out, and then fastened together again with screws. The top should be covered with a board or piece of tin to keep out rain. The third division of this type of house is made of sawed lumber and then trimmed with bark or twigs. In this way the same frames may be made to appear as very different bird houses when completed. Such houses are shown in Figs. [30] to [34]. Sometimes a pail is used for the frame and then covered with bark, as the center house of Fig. [28]. This house has a partition placed half-way up making it a two family apartment, and is provided with ventilating and cleaning devices.