ould suppose that this beautiful white fur of winter, literally as
white as the snow, might prove a disadvantage at times by making its owner
conspicuous when the ground is bare in winter, as it frequently is even in
the North; yet though weasels are about more or less by day, you will
seldom catch so much as a glimpse of one at such times, though you may
hear their sharp chirrup close at hand. Though bold and fearless, they
have the power of vanishing instantly, and the slightest alarm sends them
to cover. I have seen one standing within reach of my hand in the sunshine
on the exposed root of a tree, and while I was staring at it, it vanished
like the flame of a candle blown out, without leaving me the slightest
clue as to the direction it had taken. All the weasels I have ever seen,
either in the woods or open meadows, disappeared in a similar manner."

To add to the completeness of proof that the change from brown to white is
for protection,--in the case of the weasel, both to enable it to escape
from the fox and to circumvent the rabbit,--the weasels in Florida, where
snow is unknown, do not change colour, but remain brown throughout the
whole year.

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FEBRUARY

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FEBRUARY FEATHERS

February holes are most interesting places and one never knows what will
be found in the next one investigated. It is a good plan, in one's walks
in the early fall, to make a mental map of all the auspicious looking
trees and holes, and then go the rounds of these in winter--as a hunter
follows his line of traps. An old, neglected orchard may seem perfectly
barren of life; insects dead, leaves fallen, and sap frozen; but the warm
hearts of these venerable trees may shelter much beside the larvae of
boring beetles, and we may reap a winter harvest of which the farmer knows
nothing.

Poke a stick into a knothole and stir up the leaves at the bottom of the
cavity, and then look in. Two great yellow eyes may greet you, glaring
intermittently, and sharp clicks may assail your ears. Reach in with your
gloved hand and bring the screech owl out. He will blink in the sunshine,
ruffling up his feathers until he is twice his real size. The light partly
blinds him, but toss him into the air and he will fly without difficulty
and select with ease a secluded perch. The instant he alights a wonder