CHAPTEE XYI. 



AUTUMN FLOWERS, SQUIRRELS, AND AUTUMN COLORS. 



EARLY in the autumn, on the shady roadside 

 where the golden -rod grows, it is quite likely that we 

 shall find the pretty three-leaved vine called the hog 

 peanut (Amphicarpcea monoicd) twisting its stems 

 about every available tall weed. It is one of those 

 peculiar plants which has two kinds of flowers a 

 pretty little lilac one in a nodding cluster which rarely 

 ripens fruit, and a subterranean one without petals 

 and somewhat pear-shaped, from which results a seed 

 resembling a peanut. The leaves are very light green 

 and without gloss. The name, which is derived from 

 the Greek, signifies "both kinds of fruit," as the flower 

 above ground occasionally produces a miniature pea- 

 like pod containing three or four seeds in addition to 

 the one beneath ground which produces the " pea- 

 nut." There is still another similar vine called the 



groundnut or wild bean (Apios tu~berosa\ which we 



245 



