622 Junior Naturalist Monthly. 



on such a trip, and what a long, long time you will remember it all — 

 the golden sunshine, the bright colors of the trees, the rustle of the 

 fallen leaves, the quiet woodland. 



But I suppose long after the children who were with me that day 

 forgot the beauty of the October afternoon, they still remembered a 

 little red squirrel that seemed to resent our appearance in the wood. As 

 soon as he saw us coming he commenced to scold, as is his custom. The 

 woods belonged to him, and who were we that we dared enter? 



Now it may be that your teacher will take you out some October 

 afternoon and that you, too, will see a red squirrel. If so, I want you 

 to try to find answers to some of the following questions. Those that 

 you cannot answer right away, you may be able to find out before the 

 close of the year. 



What is the color of the squirrel on the upper parts? Underneath? 

 What is the color along the sides? Does it carry nuts in its teeth or in 

 its cheeks? Does the red squirrel store food for winter use? If so, 

 where? Do not answer this question until you have watched the red 

 squirrel and found out whether or no it provides a winter store. Does 

 it seem as if the squirrels have certain paths in the tree top which they 

 follow? Perhaps as you sit in the woods, many of you can tell some 

 interesting things that you have learned from the red squirrel's life. 

 Have you ever seen one disturb a bird's nest? Find out during the 

 year all the kinds of food which you know the red squirrel eats. 



ASTERS. 



The word Aster means " star-like." Can you tell me why these 

 plants were so named? 



Some of you may think of asters only as garden flowers; but the 

 kind that you see in the garden is the China aster. I am now speaking of 

 the wild asters, white and blue and pink, that bloom in field and wood 

 and along roadsides all the autumn. 



Find as many different asters as you can. Some day the teacher 

 may let you have a language lesson on asters to learn the ways in which 

 they differ one from another, for asters do differ in color, size of 

 blossom head, kind of stem, leaves, and in other ways. It is interesting to 

 learn about them. 



1. Note size of blossom. Color. 



2. Is the stem slender or stout? 



3. Are the leaves heart-shaped or long? 



4. What is the length of each stem? 



5. How does the aster look when it has gone to seed? 



