^^e ;Sa^ of t?}t Banl 



looking closer I discovered that the pile was entirely 

 composed of June-bug shells, — wings and hollow 

 bodies of the pestiferous beetles ! 



Well, well ! I had never seen this before, never even 

 heard of it. Chipmunk, a tiscfid member of society ! 

 actually eating bugs in this bug-ridden world of 

 mine ! This was interesting and important. Why, I 

 had really never known chipmunk, after all ! 



So I had n't. He had always been too common. 

 Flying squirrels were more worth while, because 

 there were none on the farm. Now, however, I deter- 

 mined to cultivate the acquaintance of chipmunk, for 

 there might be other discoveries awaiting me. 



And there were. A narrow strip of grass separated 

 the orchard and my garden patch. It was on my way 

 to the garden that I most often stopped to watch this 

 chipmunk, or rather the pair of them, in the orchard 

 wall. June advanced, the beetles disappeared, and 

 my garden grew apace. For the first time in four 

 years there were prospects of good strawberries. 

 Most of my small patch was given over to a new 

 berry, one that I had originated, and I was waiting 

 with an eagerness which was almost anxiety for the 

 earliest berries. 



176 



