nuts do become infested with the larvae of a dark brown moth 

 about twice the size of an ordinary clothes moth. The larva 

 of this moth has a bluish white l)ody with a dark head; it is 

 very active in its movements and after ])oring its way through 

 the* shell it soon destroys the kernel of the nut. But these 

 caterpillars attack almost all nuts as soon as they are ripe so 

 their presence in those of the woodpecker's store may be con- 

 sidered merely accidental. Apart from this liability to infec- 

 tion by these larvae no situation more favorable for the preser- 

 vation of these nuts could possibly be chosen, and if the nuts 

 do become infected the larvae must prove as valuable a food 

 for the woodpecker as the nuts themselves. 



How the woodpecker came to do this is one of the interest- 

 ing chapters in the story of evolution. In some far distant 

 epoch some woodpecker stored away some nuts in a hole and 

 when the winter came and all grain foods and insect life were 

 scarce, he fed on his concealed hoard and survived, while most 

 of his comrades perished. As years rolled on, the more severe 

 winters eliminated all those Avho failed to obtain food, while 

 those who had stored a winter supply increased till, in the 

 process of time, only such provident individuals survived. 



It may reasonably ])e asked, why do not woodpeckers, like 

 the crow and some other birds, bury their nuts in the ground. 

 It Avould, primarily be a much easier process, and probably 

 the woodpecker's first attempt at a winter hoard was made 

 in this way. But such attempts were naturally failures even 

 if the nuts did not sprout, as the snow covered the ground at 

 times and would then prevent their exhumation. All these 

 dangers and a greater one are obviated by their present method 

 of storage. Sfpiirrels and chipmunks are particularly fond of 

 acorns and store them under ground for winter use. If the 

 woodpecker did likewise the squirrel would assuredly plunder 

 his winter hoard, but stored in the bark of a tree, the nuts are 

 absolutely safe from these depredators. 



Squirrels and chipmunks though not carnivorous are in 

 reality the worst enemies of the woodpecker. From hawks and 

 birds of prey their natural abilities would save them, but in 

 the competitive struggle for existence against the scpiirrel and 

 chipmunk, only the acciuirement of this habit of storing nuts 

 in artificial pits in the bark of trees can have saved them from 

 extinction. There their store is saved from everything but the 

 tooth of Time. When hungry he has but to break open with 

 a few taps of his l)eak the base of the nut, its softest part, 

 extract the kernel, eat and be filled. Winter snows conceal 

 not his hoard; the blighting frosts destroy it not. The empty 

 shells shrivel with the returning springs, they fall out with the 

 swaying of the tree, or are removed prior to the lodging of 

 the succeeding winter stores; year after year the process is 

 repeated, generation after generation utilizes the inheritance 

 which their remote ancestor toiled to uuike perfect. 



8 



