UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 



should be asked that could not be answered by the 

 propounder. 



*'How is it,'* said one, "that a chipmunk digs a 

 hole without throwing out any dirt?" 



"You can't answer that yourself," said the other. 



"I can; he begins at the other end of the hole,'* 

 replied the first. 



"How does he get to the other end?" asked the 

 second. 



"You must n't ask any question that you can't 

 answer yourself." 



It is certainly true that in such cases the chip- 

 munk did begin at the other end of his hole, but that 

 end must be somewhere on the surface of the ground. 

 In all cases, whether there is a pile of earth or not, 

 the hole is cut up through the turf from beneath, 

 and hence all the soil must have been removed back 

 along the tunnel and out at the entrance. We often 

 see the same thing in the procedure of the wood- 

 chucks — the large pile of earth at the mouth of the 

 main entrance and another hole a few yards away 

 which has been cut up through the turf from below. 

 The woodchuck makes no effort at concealment as 

 does the chipmunk, but apparently aims only at 

 convenience and safety. But how the squirrel can 

 dispose of a bushel of soil and leave no trace is a 

 problem. The mystery of the large stones was soon 

 made clear; they did not come out of the neat, round 

 hole in the turf through which the squirrel enters or 



29 



