HYBRIDS 135 



which make remarkable timber growth are seldom 

 prolific in bearing, and vice versa. 



When the little nuts have begun to develop after 

 cross pollinization and the branches have been labeled 

 it will sometimes be necessary to cover nuts with 

 wire gauze in order to prevent depredations made by 

 squirrels and white-footed mice. Paper bags will 

 not suffice. 



Mosquito netting about nuts does not frighten 

 away squirrels, although it is desirable to cover 

 ripening hybridized nuts with bags or mosquito net- 

 ting in order to prevent them from falling to the 

 ground during the night or in the course of storms 

 when we may not be watching at the time for collect- 

 ing them. Even when wire gauze is used squirrels 

 will sometimes cut off the branch allowing gauze and 

 all to fall to the ground. 



The white-footed mouse is nearly as destructive 

 as the squirrel, particularly in relation to thin-shelled 

 nuts. I had a large number of hybrid acorns and 

 chestnuts covered with paper bags in one year when 

 the ripening season approached and imagined these 

 nuts to be all safe, but later discovered a very small 

 hole in each bag close to a limb. In the bag a hand- 

 ful of shells showed where the white-footed mouse 

 had eaten the nuts at his leisure, safe from his 

 enemies, the owls. White-footed mice climb trees 

 nearly as well as squirrels do a fact which is not 

 generally known because of the nocturnal habits of 

 this species. 



