194 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
the best of terms with wild Nature, and am always 
sorry when animals run away from me as if I were 
their sworn enemy. 
Squirrels are little harvesters. They lay up stores 
for the dark, cold, and fruitless winter. In their 
nests, which they make high up a tree in some 
forked branch, or in a hole in the trunk, they stow 
away nuts, acorns, and other kinds of provender. 
In very cold weather they sleep in their nests, but 
a glimpse of winter sunshine wakes them up and 
makes them repair to their stores for a good meal. 
Like them we should lay by a store for bad times, 
so that when adversity comes we may be able to 
meet it with a smile. And we need mental as wellas 
material provender. A man whose mind is well 
furnished with good thoughts and moral wisdom 
can pass through much trouble without feeling 
hardship ; and I think I may say that a good 
naturalist has a wealth of mental food that will 
always stand him in good stead. I say with 
Emerson : “ Give me health and a day with Nature, 
and I will make the pomp of Emperors ridiculous.” 
A pair of Squirrels will have as many as seven 
youngsters. These animals, though so charming 
in their ways, are not always delightful to handle, 
nor are they so cleanas they appear. They are nearly 
always pestered with numerous fleas, and their nests 
are verminous. 
The Hazel (Corylus avellana), from which you will 
probably gather some nuts in the autumn, is now 
in leaf ; the work of its flowers has been finished for 
some time. You know the “ Lambs’ Tails ” that 
appear on the Hazel-bushes in the very early 
