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known to lay up in the autumn their hoards of nuts, 

 chefnuts, beech mafts, acorns, &c. for their winter 

 -confumption, never attack the firs while they can 

 get ripe fruits in the fummer, or while their hoards 

 remain unconfumed in the winter; but that as foon as 

 their winter ftorcs are exhaufled, which will fome- 

 times happen in long and hard winters followed by a 

 late fpring, (as was the cafe when they firft attacked 

 my fir-trees lo or 12 years ago) they are driven by 

 necefTity to ftek for food wherever they can find it. 

 This neceflity probably firfl prompted them to try 

 what the Scotch fir might produces and having once 

 tafted t:he refinous particles, they relifhed it fo well, 

 that they have ever fipce reforted to ^he fame fpurce 

 of fupply whenever the calls of hunger urged then> 

 to it. What further perhaps induces thefe animals 

 to apply to the Scotch fir in preference to the other 

 forts of firs, may be the funilarity pf tafle between 

 the feeds of the Scotch fir cones, (of which the 

 fquirrels are remarkably fond) and the refinous par- 

 ticles which lie beneath the inner rind of the Scotch 

 fir; for it is, I apprehend, thefe refinous particles 

 which |:hey eat, and are in fearch of when they flrip 

 off the bark, and not the bark itfelf, whicja ^hey 

 always rejedl and throw down. Aftg: mild winters 

 their ravages are not fo great, their hoards not being 

 fo feon exhauftedi to this reafon I impute it that 



my 



