SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 19 



some bought at the store at the same day were more than half 

 of them mouldy, I did not find a single mouldy one among these 

 which I picked from under the wet and mouldy leaves, where' 

 they had been snowed on once or twice. Nature knows 

 how to pack them best. They were still plump and tender. 

 Apparently, they do not heat there, though wet. In the spring 

 they were all sprouting. 



Loudon says that " when the nut [of the common walnut 

 of Europe] is to be preserved through the winter for the pur- 

 pose of planting in the following spring, it should be laid in 

 a rot heap, as soon as gathered, with the husk on ; and the 

 heap should be turned over frequently in the course of the 

 winter." 



Here, again, he is stealing Nature's " thunder." How can 

 a poor mortal do otherwise ? for it is she that finds fingers 

 to steal with, and the treasure to be stolen. In the planting of 

 the seeds of most trees, the best gardeners do no more than 

 follow Nature, though they may not know it. Generally, both 

 large and small ones are most sure to germinate, and succeed 

 best, when only beaten into the earth with the back of a spade, 

 and then covered with leaves or straw. These results to which 

 planters have arrived, remind us of the experience of Kane 

 and his companions at the North, who, when learning to live 

 in that climate, were surprised to find themselves steadily 

 adopting the customs of the natives, simply becoming Esqui- 

 maux. So, when we experiment in planting forests, we find 

 ourselves at last doing as Nature does. Would it not be well 

 to consult with Nature in the outset ? for she is the most 

 extensive and experienced planter of us all, not excepting the 

 Dukes of Athol. 



In short, they who have not attended particularly to this 

 sul)ject are but little aware to what an extent quadrupeds and 

 birds are employed, especially in the fall, in collecting, and 

 so disseminating and planting the seeds of trees. It is the 

 almost constant employment of the squirrels at that season, 

 and you rarely meet with one that has not a nut in its mouth, 

 or is not just going to get one. One squirrel-hunter of this 

 town told me that he knew of a walnut tree which bore par- 

 ticularly good nuts, but that on going to gather them one 

 fall, he found that he had been anticipated by a family of a 



