THE SQUIRREL'S BOTANY 

 LESSON 



March 24th 



CHAPTER might be written upon 

 the beautiful symmetrical arrange- 

 ment of the pine-cone scales. They 

 are well worth careful study. The squirrel 

 may here teach us a beautiful lesson in bot- 

 any. How well he knows this spiral arrangement 

 of the scales, and the order in which nature intended 

 they should open ! 



"The squirrel has the key to this conical and spiny 

 chest of many apartments," says Thoreau. " If you 

 would be convinced how differently armed the squirrel 

 is naturally for dealing with pitch-pine cones, just try to 

 get one open with your teeth. He who extracts the 

 seeds from a single closed cone with the aid of a knife 

 will be constrained to confess that the squirrel earns his 

 dinner. 



" The plucking and stripping of a pine-cone is a busi- 

 ness which he and his family understand perfectly. He 

 does not prick his fingers, nor pitch his whiskers, nor 

 gnaw the solid cone any more than he needs to. ... He 

 holds in his hands a solid embossed cone so hard it al- 

 most rings to the touch of his teeth. He knows better 



