of a 



level hill-top the ground beneath the tree was 

 thickly covered with fallen nuts; only a few of 

 these had got a tree's length away from the par- 

 ent. Occasionally, however, a wind-gust used a 

 long, slender limb as a sling, and flung the at- 

 tached nuts afar. 



The squirrels were active, laying up a hoard 

 of nuts for winter. Many a walnut, hickory, or 

 butternut tree at some distant place may have 

 grown from an uneaten or forgotten nut which 

 the squirrels carried away. 



The winged seeds are the ones that are most 

 widely scattered. These are grown by many 

 kinds of trees. From May until midwinter trees 

 of this kind are giving their little atoms of life 

 to the great seed-sower, the wind. Most winged 

 seeds have one wing for each seed and commonly 

 each makes but one flight. Generally the lighter 

 the seed and the higher the wind, the farther the 

 seed will fly or be blown. 



In May the silver maple starts the flight of 

 winged seeds. This tree has a seed about the size 

 of a peanut, provided with a one-sided wing as 

 large as one's thumb. It sails away from the 



295 



