clxviii 



Mr. Riley presented the following communication from Mr. 

 Otto Lugger of St. Louis, in reference to the storing of acorns 

 and the cutting of pine cones by squirrels : 



Near Grand Haven, while resting from an extended tramp through the 

 woods, I observed several squirrels at work, cutting oft" the cones of pines. 

 They were always in pairs, one on the ground and one on the extreme end 

 of a branch. These branches very often were not strong enough to bear 

 the weight of the animal : it would then slowly crawl toward the cone until 

 the branch commenced to bend, then it would stretch itself to the utmost 

 to reach the prize : quick as lightning it performed the operation, and has- 

 tily retreated to presently repeat the same process. The second squirrel 

 was almost invariably on the ground. In regard to the storage of food, I 

 have observed repeatedly the following facts : — Near Chicago and Detroit 

 I have often found, in early spring, as soon as the snow had disappeared 

 from the sunny places on the edge of the forest, and while searching for 

 beetles and chiefly pupa; of moths, great numbers of acorns, loosely covered 

 with earth and moss, close to the trunks of oak, and chiefly under the roots 

 These acorns had certainly been put there by some species of squirrel, 

 since without any exception the germ of the acorn had been bitten out by 

 sharp and long incisors, such as these animals possess. The number of 

 acorns thus deposited varies from about half a dozen to upward of sixty. 



Dr. C. L. Cassin, 1315 Washington av., G. W. Riggs, and 

 Prof. F. E. Nipher of Washington University, were elected Asso- 

 ciate Members. 



February 15, 1875. 

 Albert Todd, Vice President, in the chair. 



Eighteen members present. 



Mr. Todd, to whom was referred the subject of the best means 

 toward the erection of a new building to be occupied by the Aca- 

 demy of Science and the Missouri Historical Society, on the lot 

 deeded to the societies by James H. Lucas, reported favorably 

 on the subject of beginning the work as soon as possible. He 

 proposed a scheme for taking subscriptions to capital stock. 

 This plan was gotten up on the supposition that a proper build- 

 ing could be erected for $40,000. If the Academy should get sub- 

 scriptions to the amount of $15,000, and the Historical Society 

 would do the same, this would give $30,000 ; and this fact, to- 

 gether with the fact that the lot was valued at $10,000, would 

 give a basis for borrowing more than $10,000, or even $20,000, 



