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f r f '. v ’O'” <■ - -A- e CUntoa, S. C M Thursday, February 6, 1964 THE CIJNTON CHRONICLE Home The Bluebird Light and lilting it the song, a vivid cobalt storm above the wanning brown earth—the blue - bird has come home again. Though raw winds still may blow and the fields be mottled with patches unmelted snow, this happy little songster—if you’re lucky — will once more grace your landscape. How. ever, our beloved blue bird is in danger of vanishing from our landscape. What has happened to the blue bird is a clear and strong example of the results of tam pering with nature. This ra diant flash of blue feathers and liquid melody, until a few years ago, was an official song bird of spring in our area. When you heard a blue bird’s song—“cher-wee” “tru-a-ly” — you knew, truly, that spring was on the way. Then some thing happened. ^Spring would come, then summer, without a sign of this merry member of the thrush family, called a “disaster species ,v by the Na tional Audubon Society in 1900 and 1961. The population of the blue bird had dropped by as much as 80 per cent in some locali ties. why? For several reasons, amnog them the unusually se vere winters of 1958 and 1960, and the tampering with nature by man, through pesticides, construction projects and what might be called over-cultiva tion in farming and gardening; also because of over-crowding by housei sparrows and star lings, two European imports. Blue birds also have them selves to blame. Their migra- DOLLAR DAYS! '' $1 ONE DOLLAR DELIVERS (WITH QUALIFIED CREDIT) f Any Reclining Chcdr Any 10-Pc. Living Room Suite Any 3-Pc. Bedroom Suite Any 5-Pc. Dinette Any Mattress and Box Springs Set ... 39.95 up 169.95 up 119.95 up 49.95 up 59.95 up Thursday, Friday, Saturday Only 204 N. Broad St. Furniture Clinton, S. C. Phone 833*2628 be out of sight while incubat ing their eggs. There must be a removable, or hinged roof to allow cleaning and for evict ing sparrows. The back board may be made larger than the bouse so it can be fastened securely to a fence post. Drill several one-fourth inch holes under the eaves for venti lation and several more in the floor for' drainage. Omit a perch—an open invitation to house sparrows. Place your | house on a pole or post about 4 feet ,above the ground. Select ! a sunny spot facing south or > southast. ’ ~If the entrance diameter is limited Uo one and- one-half inches larger birds will not be able to enter. The nest itself is a loose cup of grasess stems and bits of bark, lined with finer grass. The four to six un marked eggs are pale bluish- white and hatch in about two weeks. There are usually two broods a year, occasionally three. Always keep clean water nearby for drinking and bath,- ing. Th blue bird winters mainly in the southern United States, but a few may winter as far north 4s southern New England and New York. Wherever he flies, the blue bird is a tiny touch of living color, a sign of better days to come. He deserves them, him self. We can help—as we shbUldT directly o^'Thfltfbttly we’ve contributed to their plight. Put up a house and get your neigh bors, friends and community interested in doing the same. Insure the blue bird of his right to live by providing a home in which he can raise his young this year. —By Mrs. Guy E. Tumblin (Condensed from an article in Flower Grower Magazine.) -w n: i|| * y-< Three-Car Wreck on Laurens Road These three curs were in collision last Thursday nig^ht on the Clinton-Laurens highway. Johnny Wil liam Wilson, driving a 1950 Ford, attempted to make a left turn into his driveway. A 1962 Chevrolet, driven by William Alfred Johnson, collided, with Wilson, as did a 1953 Pontiac driven by Johnnie William Barr. Pa li olman Billy Foster investigated.—Photos by Motes. tory instincts sometimes lead them north so early that freez ing winds and snows coming at the end of the winter make them reverse their course. Then, too, late winter storms have trapped them, depriving them of food, tragically freez ing tens of thousands to death. Then, too, the blue bird faces JUST OFF THE PRESS! ”A Fairfield Sketchbook" JULIAN BOLICK THE CHRONICLE «. sJr, ■ : ■ »' % / Special For DOLLAR DAYS $5.95 Quart Blue put? (Limit: One of the 3 Items with $5.00 or more order) Mayonnaise] SUGAR 29c LARGE SIZE ARGO M 303 CANS WESSON OIL 29c PEAS ... 2 for 25c FLAT CAN ARGO 303 CANS SARDINES 10c UMAS ... 2 for 25c EASY MONDAY ’ QUART MAYFIELD 303 CAN BLEACH ; . 10c CORN :... 10c FRYERS [ Grade A’ Whole ] «• 49c SWEET POTATOES, lb. 5c BANANAS, lb. . . . 10c TOMATOES, lb. . 10c PECANS,lb. ....’ 15c EGGS further hazards — man-made hazards. We are instantly adding poisoril to the food of birds in the form of pesticides and herbicides. How much the blue bird is affected has not been determined. But certainly a well-sprayed orchard will not Supply much food for hungry birds. The blue bird fits in with the naUiral scheme of things. Few birds have eating habits that are so helpful to the farm er and the gardner. Nearly three-fourths of the blue bird’s diet consists of insects that are injurious to man and his crops. During spring, summer and fail, the blue bird subsists mostly on , beetles, grasshop pers, caterpillars and spiders, and on seeds and berries of poison ivy, sumac and bay ber ry. How can we help the blue bird survive? We can become house-builders. Today, there’s no box-inhabiting species in greater need of our help. Any soft wood, such as pine, press or fir, from one-half to three-fourths inches thick is satisfactory. Ends of .old fruit and vegetable crates {fare ‘ ex cellent and there’s no heed for fancy architecture' ’dr bright color schmes. Concentrate on sturdiness, but allow for loose- fitting of the boards, to permit ventilation unde- the hot sun. Measuremens must be pre cise. Remember this isn’t just another bird house, but a home for a specific bird, which has individual requirements. Make the inside floor measurements 5 by 5 inches. The height of the cavity, from floor to where the roof meets the sides, should be 8 inches. The roof may be either peaked or of a simple sloping variety. In the latter case, of course, the height at the back of the house would be an inch or so higher. The roof should overhang the entrance about 2 inches. The diameter of the entrance must be one and one-half inches, and the center of the opening should be near the top—6 inches above the floor. 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