140 



THE HAZEL. 



squirrel. The depredator does not waste his 

 strength by cutting through the stem, but having 

 first nibbled away the husk, gnaws a hole through 

 the shell, and extracts the kernel piece-meal. If 

 the nut should happen to fall off before it is con- 

 sumed, he does not take the trouble to descend in 

 quest of it, but begins upon another, and proceeds 

 until his voracious appetite is satisfied. Not un- 

 frequently a nut falls in his way, the kernel of 



HAZEL-NUT. 



which is not matured ; this he either avoids al- 

 together, or commences nibbling, but finding, pro- 

 bably from the hollow sound emitted, that his 

 labours will not be rewarded, he deserts it before 

 he has pierced through the shell. This power of 

 detecting a worthless nut appears to be gained by 

 experience ; for we sometimes, though very rarely, 

 find a hollow nut, the shell of which has been 

 perforated. 



The Nuthatch displays no less ingenuity than 

 the squirrel in procuring a meal from the Hazel- 



