II 



THE PLEASURES OF A NATURALIST 



How closely every crack and corner of nature is 

 packed with life, especially in our northern tem- 

 perate zone! I was impressed with this fact when 

 during several June days I was occupied with 

 road-mending on the farm where I was born. To 

 open up the loosely piled and decaying laminated 

 rocks was to open up a little biological and zoologi- 

 cal museum, so many of our smaller forms of life 

 harbored there. From chipmunks to ants and 

 spiders, animal life flourished. We disturbed the 

 chipmunks in their den a foot and a half or more 

 beneath the loosely piled rocks. There were two 

 of them in a soft, warm nest of dry, shredded 

 maple-leaves. They did not wait to be turned 

 out of doors, but when they heard the racket over- 

 head bolted precipitately. Two living together 

 surprised me, as heretofore I had never known 

 but one in a den. Near them a milk snake had 

 stowed himself away in a crevice, and in the little 

 earthquake which we set up got badly crushed. 

 Two little red-bellied snakes about one foot long 

 had also found harbor there. 

 The ants rushed about in great consternation 



11 



