“I believe in living out-of-doors,” says Mrs. Robin Redbreast, “and I shall not keep my children indoors, no matter how sanitary the house may be. They shall be educated in the open air. There is as much to be learned outdoors as indoors.”
A Bungalow for Wrens
Jenny Wren and her husband like a little perch to rest upon before entering their home. In order to keep the English sparrow from being inquisitive and troublesome, make the entrance only one inch across so that Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow cannot enter.
“Sparrows are not a bit nice neighbors,” fusses gentle Jenny Wren. “They pick a quarrel over nothing, then peck our family to pieces if they can.”
The Martins’ Hotel
Do not charge Mr. and Mrs. Martin for lodgings. Instead, be thankful that they bring their friends and relatives with them, for martins come in companies and love to linger where invited. They destroy millions of insects.
The Bluebird’s Cottage
These heavenly bluebirds, with pinkish plumage on their breasts, add great beauty to our home gardens; and fortunate is the owner of the bird house which they select “rent free.” They are terribly afraid of English sparrows, or more of them would live in the houses around about the home garden. Bluebirds eat up whole families of garden pests at a meal.—From The Mary Frances Garden Book.