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THE APARTMENT BIRDS by Hon Held Federation of Ontario Manitoba Is setting out to make a name for Itself Its not that Gimll Is about to host the Olympic Games or erect a covered stadium or anything like that Gimll has set its sights on something different to become the purple martin capital of Canada Local residents know that the town is a favourite for these darkcoloured swallows because of its open areas near the lake And they know that martins love company often nesting in bird nouses that look like miniature apartment buildings So they simply enlarged on these Ideas On a 15metre tower erected near the town harbour enthusiastic martinlovers have erected a total of 35 of the apartment bird houses In he hopes of attracting hundreds of purple martins Most of us start on a somewhat smaller scale but the essential ingredients are the same open lots of space a martin house erected at least five metres off he ground and lots of patience The open water provides an abundance of insects or food as well as fresh drinks obtained by skimming over the surface with an open bill The patience to also crucial since martins seem to want to Inspect a new house for at least a year before gradually moving In Most commercial martin bouses are now mode of aluminum for durability and ease of cleaning but my favourites are the old wooden classics In many a well- established cottage area martin houses are obviously a source of pride almost a status symbol with fancy dormers and filigrees to match any Victorian house Purple martins originally nested In hollow trees caves or woodpecker boles Now they are almost dependent on manmade shelters for nesting Their pleasant voices and voracious appetites for flying insects make martins popular companions so in their Ontario range north to Konora and Sudbury they are unlikely to go without homes According to the Nature Society martins will be returning from their winter haunts In Peru to Ontario on April 12 That date may not be exact but If your martin house Is standing at the ready Im sure you will be keeping an eye cocked more closely as the day draws near CASPAR STOOP HERB GARDEN Published by JKD Marketing Services Ltd 360 Adelaide St Suite Toronto Ontario MSA 3X9 416 3651022 Managing Editor I Duffncr expressed The publisher contained herein but IVc gratefully acknowledge the co operation of Ministry of Tourism Mlnlsliy of Housing the Ministry of Scan J and Food TORONTO If you dry herbs In a microwave oven they will have better flavour and colour than they would if dried In hanging bunches as was done in pioneer days Planting onions or shallots among your carrot seeds or laying stocks of garlic between the rows will help to prevent carrot maggots from spoiling the crop You can Keep groundhogs out of your garden by spreading a sixInch band of blood meal around your garden Blood meal is a product available from most garden supplies outlets And who says all these gardening tips will work Caspar Stoop hats who And Caspar is pretty well qualified to know Hes the gardener and at Black Creek Pioneer Village the living 1850s community on the edge of Metropolitan Toronto at Street and Stecles Avenue The garden Is an important feature of the Village largely because the vast majority of adult visitors have either flower beds or vegetable gardens or both at their own homes There is great Interest in the varieties of flowers and vegetables that were grown in the 18Sos and a particular Interest in the herb garden that special spot that produced the zingy tastes and exotic smells grandma or greatgrandma used to achieve in her kitchen Caspar Stoop grows a whole spectrum of spicy plants In the herb garden at the Village Some are the ones commonly seen on grocery store shelves others are usually available only at specialty shops and still others are never seen being sold Caspar Stoop Herb Garden Pioneer Village If youre a veteran bird watcher or as they prefer to be called youve likely heard of Norman Chester field The name was new to me until It came over one of the wire service recently that Norman Chesterfield of had become the number one bird lister In the world I knew that was a fishing village In the Windsor area near Point So I made appointment and went down to see the new worlds champion buder Making an appointment was a wise move I discovered that the new champ will grab a plane on the spur of the moment and take off to see a bird that one of his buddies around the world has sighted be it in the vast wilderness of the Hunilaysj or the Jungles of Peru Norman turned out to be a deceiving guy He appeared to be about fifty but hes crowding seventy He was serene mild mannered and didnt took like a gogetter at all But underneath U a seething competitive spirit Anyway thats what his wife Jean told me He denied this He said It wasnt a desire to be Number One that drove him It was Just a great interest in birds Dont let him kid you snapped Jean Hes a fanatic about winning I dropped the subject and asked him about reaching the astounding record of listing species of birds I He said hed been working on it for twentyfive years Hes birdscanned all me oceans and the continents except Antarctica Hes been to over IS countries looking for different birth He showed me a leathercovered book that Usui all families and species of birds He bad a check mark against the ones be has seen It was impressive When he hit the mark be knew be had a fighting chance to beat the record held for some time by Stuart Keith of New York Then he went to Venezuela and hit the jackpot He spotted enough birds to beat Keiths record by two species Since then hes added another twentyseven And hes not resting on his laurels Hes planning to fly to Brazil then maybe Australia Chesterfield bops in and out of planes the way most of us bop in and out of automobiles And its a running gag among birders that Norman flies more than moat of the birds do commercially Heres a fairly complete list sage marjoram mint kinds summer and winter savory dill rosemary costmary lemon balm lemon verbena bee balm lavender thyme parsley and rue which some Euro use to make a tonic for women who have had babies recently A kindly mld60s man with a ready smile and bright blue eyes Stoop was bom in the small town of in Holland He served an apprenticeship with his father who was a market gardener end later branched into flower growing For some years before coming to Canada In 1051 Caspar bad had las own market gardening and flower business In Holland Like so many immigrants arriving In a strange land be was forced to take what work he could get and entered the con struction trade at Ontario Moving to Toronto In the summer of 1952 Stoop got a job with a landscape gardening firm remained with that organization for more than years In he answered a newspaper ad vertisement and found himseu stepping back in time more than 100 years as assistant to Black Creek Pioneer Village gardener a longterm employee who was about to retire Shortly thereafter he was appointed to his present position Always meticulous about keeping his vegetable and flower crops authentic for the period Caspar keeps an eye out for old hard- to- find varieties and what he calls Heritage seeds varieties grown in the good old days and which arc now available from a pioneer type seed house in the United States A few vegetable varieties such as pumpkins he says are much the same as they were years ago However says Stoop everything wasnt necessarily better back then regar dless of how warmly nostalgic we may feel about yesteryear These old varieties are actually much more trouble than their modem counterparts because of their Increased susceptibility to disease Also he teste often isnt as good and the yield generally Isnt as high Like earlier generations too Caspar has to fight nature and try to ward off rabbits groundhogs coons and squirrels from his crops Among his other duties at the Village Stoop sees that lawns are kept presentable and the several kinds of shade trees on the grounds ore properly pruned and healthy Look around Pioneer Village and youll see maple walnut butternut plane tree chestnut mountain white and green ash pine spruce and balsam trees Fruitbearing trees and bushes on the grounds include apple pear crabapple gooseberry red white black currant ground cherry and huckleberry Also are chicory to mix with coffee ax for making linen broom com for and Indian corn to grind Into flour In the late fall and winter months Caspar prepares and grinds herbs to bo sold In the Village gift shop and dries flowers far use as In the in the various houses in the community One final tip from Caspar to dry weeds cut them when almost ripe then hong them head down in a dry dark place The microwave oven does a good Job here too FREE ADVANCE NOTICE A greatnumber of HOMES FARMS LOTS COTTAGES BUSINESSES and REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT op portunities are sold ever being advertised Buying is one thing finding a good deal is something else Let selected Real Estate Professionals ALL OVER ONTARIO be on the lookout for you and inform you simply and confidentially Its absolutely without any Please send information on INCOME PRODUCING PROPERTIES COTTAGES MAIL TO LAND FARMS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Your remarks MARKETING SERVICES LTD Adelaide St Suite Toronto Ontario MSA area- NAME STREET PHONE