THE BEECH WOODS 



flight, and with a great deal of muffled 

 chuckling disappeared in the woods. 

 The mystery was explained by the scat- 

 tered remains of a chestnut burr on 

 the rail where he had perched. The 

 squirrel, with his natural foresight, 

 was examining a sample of the lone 

 tree near the lane to see if the crop was 

 ready to cut; evidently it was nearly 

 ready, for a few days later he could be 

 heard singing lustily his harvesting 

 song, while from time to time the burrs 

 rattled through the leaves and landed 

 on the ground below with a thud. 



Through these days the red squirrel 

 is business personified. No waiting 

 until the burrs crack open and the 

 brown nuts drop out. He takes no 

 sporting chances with his gray and 

 black kindred or the crows, blue jays, 

 chipmunks, and the hosts of other har- 

 vesters. He cuts and sings and cuts 

 again, then gathers the green prickly 

 burrs and packs them in a hollow log 

 or stump for winter use. When the 

 November winds shake down the 

 brown nuts he gathers more and adds 

 them to his store, but prefers to hide 

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