264 Seed-Carriers 



many a single nut-bearing tree; for sometimes they 

 may be startled, and made to drop their treasure 

 before they reach home ; some may forget their store- 

 house, and some may die before it is empty. Still, 

 the result of any of these accidents will be rather 

 solitary trees than groves, or even groups ; for in the 

 case of an abandoned store-house, though many might 

 sprout, only one or two would have a chance of 

 growing. 



But the gray tree-squirrels may have done more, 

 for, unlike the red, and the ground-squirrels, they bury 

 their winter-store of nuts and acorns separately, one by 

 one, about a couple of inches deep ; and though they 

 have such good memories as to be able to find them 

 again, even when buried under a foot of snow, no 

 doubt in many cases accidents have happened, and 

 their stores have been left undisturbed, and would 

 have excellent opportunities of growing. The number 

 of these little animals in North America was some- 

 thing extraordinary in bygone times ; for in one year 

 (1749) 640,000 were destroyed in Pennsylvania alone. 

 They may well, therefore, have done a great deal of 

 planting, though they would probably not carry their 

 nuts far. 



The nuthatch often plants quite a colony of young 

 beeches around its haunts ; for it has favourite trees 

 to which it resorts, after twisting a cluster of nuts from 

 the bough; its object being to fix the nuts in some 

 crevice of the bark where it may hammer at them. 

 Very often, however, it fails in the attempt, the nuts 

 fall to the ground, and, under favourable circumstances, 

 germinate. 



Monkeys, also, sometimes carry nuts and fruits to a 



