324 



Life-histories of Northern Animals 



CONES 



Before the crop is quite ripe the Red-squirrel may be seen 

 industriously cutting off pine-cones, fir-cones, etc., till the tree 

 is despoiled and the ground below littered over with the crop. 

 There they lie until the harvester finds time to open each, and 

 carry the valuable part to one of its storehouses. And here it 



may be remarked 

 that the Red-squir- 

 rel knows the best 

 way of getting at 

 each kind of food. 

 It never opens an 

 acorn as it would 

 a hickory nut, or 

 a pine-cone as a 

 chestnut burr. It 

 never strikes a but- 

 ternut on the thick 

 end, or makes the 

 mistake of chissel- 

 ing into a nut that 

 does not repay the 

 trouble. Sound- 

 Zoo^/ n^ nuts picked 

 up at a Squirrel's 

 laboratory are in- 

 variably found to 

 be empty. 



The work- 

 shop where the Squirrel thus prepares its food is much marked 

 by heaps of the hulls, rubbish and rejected nuts, but these are 

 never left near the actual store. 



The habit of cutting off the chestnuts before they are ripe 

 is very marked among the Connecticut Squirrels, and is at times 

 somewhat puzzling. The nuts would be much better if left a 

 fortnight longer, and by throwing them to the ground all are 

 brought within reach of many rivals. The explanation lies in 

 the fact that the Red-squirrel has been evolved to prey on the 



Fig. ii3^Red-squinels in life. 



