NUTS 297 



up the kernel. Of this the bird is not long in dis- 

 posing. As soon as it has finished it flies off to the 

 copse. For yards around the gate are pieces of shell 

 and outer coats of beech-mast, as well as the harder 

 cases of seeds and wild fruits. Upon all these the 

 nuthatch feeds. The little bird is as interesting a 

 creature as any of the denizens of the hazel copse. 



