File:St. Nicholas (serial) (1873) (14596976040).jpg

Identifier: stnicholasserial251dodg (find matches)
Title: St. Nicholas (serial)
Year: 1873 (1870s)
Authors: Dodge, Mary Mapes, 1830-1905
Subjects: Children's literature
Publisher: (New York : Scribner & Co.)
Contributing Library: Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Digitizing Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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stripped a small groveof almond-trees. The owner of the grovethought he must have a good crop, and whenthe time came to gather it he went to do so,and lo, there was not a nut on any tree ! But one of his boys, in foraging about, foundan immense old oak which was partly de-cayed, and riddled with holes from top tobottom. And in each hole was an almond!So the tree was cut down, and the man securedseveral bushels of almonds, after all; but thewoodpeckers scolded him loudly. Down in Mexico there lives a similar wood-pecker, who stores his nuts and acorns in thehollow stalks of the yuccas and magueys.These hollow stalks are separated by jointsinto several cavities, and the sagacious birdhas somehow found this cut, and bores ahole at the upper end of each joint, andanother at the lower, through which to ex-tract the acorns when wanted. Then it fillsup the stalks solidly, and leaves its storesthere until needed, safe from the depredations 190 A BIRD S STOREHOUSE ; OR THE CARPENTER-BIRD. 191
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THE WOODPECKERS STOREHOUSE. of any other thievish birdor four-footed animal. The first place in whichthis curious habit was ob-served was on a hill inthe midst of a desert.The hill was covered withyuccas and magueys, butthe nearest oak trees werethirty miles away; and so,it was calculated, theseindustrious birds had tomake a flight of sixtymiles for each acornstowed thus in the stalks ! An observer of birdsremarks : There are sev-eral strange features tobe noticed in these facts :the provident instinctwhich prompts this birdto lay by stores of pro-visions for the winter;the great distance trav-ersed to collect a kindof food so unusual forits race ; and its seeking,in a place so remote fromits natural abode, a store-house so remarkable. Can instinct aloneteach, or have experienceand reason taught, thesebirds that, far better thanthe bark of trees or crev-ices in rocks, or any otherhiding-place, are thesehidden cavities they makefor themselves within thehollow stems of distantplants ? T

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