A YEAR IN THE FIELDS 



acorns the moisture of the ground and the 

 covering of leaves seem congenial, though 

 too much warmth and moisture often cause 

 the acorns to germinate prematurely. I 

 have found the ground under the oaks in 

 December covered with nuts, all anchored 

 to the earth by purple sprouts. But the 

 winter which follows such untimely growths 

 generally proves fatal to them. 



One must always cross-question nature if 

 he would get at the truth, and he will not 

 get at it then unless he frames his questions 

 with great skill. Most persons are unreli- 

 able observers because they put only lead- 

 ing questions, or vague questions. 



Perhaps there is nothing in the operations 

 of nature to which we can properly apply 

 the term intelligence, yet there are many 

 things that at first sight look like it. Place 

 a tree or plant in an unusual position, and it 

 will prove itself equal to the occasion, and 

 behave in an unusual manner ; it will show 

 original resources ; it will seem to try intel- 

 ligently to master the difficulties. Up by 

 Furlow Lake, where I was camping out, a 

 young hemlock had become established upon 

 the end of a large and partly decayed log 

 that reached many feet out into the lake. 



192 



