LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL. 



347 



a depression on the hillside only a 

 short distance below me was a little 

 brush-heap half buried in fallen leaves. 

 I had heard a rustling' there and soon 

 became aware that a chipmunk (striped 

 ground-squirrel) had there taken re- 

 fuge. I threw the apple-core toward 

 the edge of the heap. Scarcely had it 

 failen when "Mr." Chipmunk appeared. 

 Pausing only for a brief glance at me, 

 he made a quick forward and down- 

 ward movement of the - head, which 

 fastened his incisors deep in the apple- 

 core and it was carried back into the 

 dark recesses of his abode. 



I sat there for awhile, then moved to 

 another part of the woods and later 

 came back to the south slope of the 

 hill. Another ground-squirrel, ran into 

 a hollow stub of a limb on a log iying 

 at the foot of the hill. I sat down near 

 by and remained quiet. In a few min- 

 utes he poked his head out, but, see- 

 ing" me, soon withdrew. I noticed that 

 his cheeks were distended by some- 

 thing which he was carrying. Going 

 up to the log, I took a little mirror and 

 reflected the sunlight on him. The 

 hollow extended only far enough to 

 allow him to retreat for a few inches 

 or a foot, from the entrance, so he and 

 I were practically face to face. A 

 bright red berry that he had dropped 

 revealed what he was collecting. It 

 was the fruit of the dogwood tree. At 

 that time acorns and nuts were scarce 



in this part of the woods, and the little 

 fellow had to gather such crops as na- 

 ture provided. Several dogwood trees 

 weil laden with the fruit were near by. 

 I gathered some and bit into one to 

 examine it. The pulp is somewhat 

 bitter, but is relished by bluebirds and 

 robins. There is a small nutty kernel 

 in the stony seed and this is probably 

 the part utilized bv the squirrel. Tak- 

 ing about a dozen of the berries, I 

 threw them into the hollow log, just 

 in front of him, at the same time re- 

 flecting in the sunlight. While I was 

 there he remained crouched low, his 

 little black eyes sparkling. I went 

 away for a short distance and stood 

 somewhat behind a tree. In a few 

 minutes he came out and, after looking 

 around for awhile, turned back and 

 proceeded to fill his pouches with the 

 berries. He took them all. I saw him 

 go to his den on the hillside. I went 

 to the dogwood tree and got another 

 handful of berries and put them in his 

 burrow, completely filling the entrance. 

 In another part of the woods, I found 

 a tree where beechnuts were plentiful- 

 Eating what I wanted, I gathered some 

 for the squirrel. When I returned to 

 his burrow, about an hour after I had 

 left it, I found that he had taken care 

 of all dogwood berries. I then contri- 

 buted a handful of beechnuts to his 

 winter store. 



Literary 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



In The Open. Intimate Studies and Appre- 

 ciations of Nature. By Stanton Davis 

 Kirkham. San Francisco and New 

 York: Paul Elder & Company. 



The author has spent the better part of 

 his life in the great out-of-doors. During 

 his wanderings on the American continent 

 he has made an acquaintance with practi- 

 cally all of the flora and the fauna from 

 Atlantic to Pacific, from Canada to South- 

 ern Mexico. His essays are those of a na- 

 turalist and trained observer presenting to 

 the reader an intimate and comprehensive 

 study, dealing with the habits of birds, in- 



sects and the friendly animals of the forest,, 

 and conveying the spirit of the mountains, 

 the forest, the sea and the seasons, with 

 literary charm and rare understanding. "In 

 the Open" breathes the spirit of the out-of- 

 doors. It carries you into the cool and 

 shadowy heart of the forest, up snow-clad 

 mountain sloj.es and out upon the wind- 

 swept plain. Bird song, the hum of insect 

 life, the wild fragrance of woodland flow- 

 ers, and many of the elusive mysteries and 

 beauties of meadow and mountain are so 

 sympathetically interpreted as to make the 

 reader wish with all his heart that he., too,. 

 were out "in the open." 



