210 RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



the squirrels eat these fungi after they have dried, but I cannot 

 assert this from actual observation." 



From the foregoing evidence, it appears that the storing of 

 fungi in the branches of trees in the autumn by the Red Squirrel 

 is a well-developed instinct. It is remarkable with what care the 

 fungi are deposited. The fork of a branch is first selected and then 

 the stipe is pushed downwards through it so that the pileus rests 

 on the twigs, the result being that the fruit-body as a whole cannot 

 fall to the ground by its own weight or be easily dislodged by the 

 wind or by the swaying of the branches. The trees chosen by the 

 squirrels for their open larders are usually Spruce- trees. 



The Storage of Fungi in Relation to Climate. In England, 

 during the late autumn and winter, as is well known, the climate 

 is mild, the rainfall heavy, and the periods of frost not very 

 intense or long continued. The English squirrel lays up for the 

 winter a store of nuts and seeds but, so far as is known, never 

 any fungi. Fleshy fungi, if stored by this animal either in holes 

 or on the branches of trees, would, owing to the dampness and 

 mildness of the English climate, surely be apt to go rotten rather 

 rapidly. On the other hand, in the inland parts of Canada and 

 of the northern United States, the climate, during the late autumn 

 and winter, is relatively very cold, the precipitation relatively 

 slight and in the form of snow, and the frost very severe and pro- 

 longed. In central and ' western Canada and in North Dakota, 

 snow lies upon the ground and the earth is frost-bound for at 

 least four months each year. In the northern part of North 

 America, therefore, the storage of winter food supplies by squirrels 

 is even more important than in England. The Red Squirrel lays 

 up for the winter not merely cones and nuts but, in addition, a 

 store of fungi. Owing to the dryness and coldness of the climate, 

 the fungi hung in the branches of trees by squirrels in late autumn 

 dry without rotting and remain good to eat until the spring comes, 

 while those deposited in bulk in holes, although moist when col- 

 lected, become partially dried and, in this condition, preserved 

 by the action of the frost. The fungi heaped together in holes, 

 etc., are put by the weather into a state of cold storage resembling 

 that in which mankind now preserves many of his food-stuffs, 



