THE HAZEL. 



139 



rience nor by education ; for it lives but a single 

 year in its perfect state, and it can have had no 

 communication with others wiser than itself^ for 

 all are equally ignorant of their own history. We 

 can therefore only conclude that in all its opera- 

 tions it has been guided by an intelligence supe- 

 rior to its own, by Him, namely, whose care is 

 equally bestowed on the minutest and on the most 

 important of His works. 



The larva9 of other insects feed on the nut; 

 but the depredations committed by squirrels, where 

 these beautiful but mischievous little animals 

 abound, exceed those of all the others. The food 

 of the squirrel varies with the seasons; in winter 

 and spring it feeds on buds and the bark of trees, 

 and is said also to devour insects. In plantations 

 of Larch, it often does great mischief by strip- 

 ping off the bark from the young branches, and 

 checks the growth of the trees by destroying the 

 leading shoots. As soon as the kernel of the 

 nut begins to swell, it makes this its principal 

 food, and from July to October enjoys many a 

 dainty repast. So eager is it in its search after 

 nuts, that it will resort to trees growing close to 

 dwelling-houses, and unless scared away (which is 

 no easy task) will appropriate a large proportion 

 of the fruit to its own use. If it only attacked 

 the ripe nuts, its ravages would be limited, and 

 perhaps be compensated, by the activity and intelli- 

 gence displayed in its movements ; but as it sets 

 to work from six to eight weeks before the nuts 

 are ripe, and destroys more than it actually 

 devours, its share in the produce is more than an 

 equitable one. The annexed woodcut represents 

 a bunch of nuts which has been visited by a 



