210 



THE NATURE BOOK 



The fruit is. of course, the typical nut that which infests the Birch, which pro- 



with its scalloped husk, hard biown shell, duces rounded swollen buds that never 



and nutritious kernel. These nuts are properly ojien. There is also a nut 



so assiduously collected and planted by Weevil, a small l)rown beetle with a long 



}^: 



THE HAZEL'S WELCOME TO THE SPRING. 



the squirrels, though for quite other 

 purposes, that these lively little creatures 

 may be said to be the main instruments in 

 the dispersal of the seeds. 



There is a Hazel gall-mite, similar to 



snout, which inserts its egg into the 

 young nut, and this develops into the 

 iat maggot so often found in place 

 of tile sweet kernel. 



Henry Irving. 



