William J. Sullivan age 10, of Williamsport PA : for his question:

Does a squirrel remember where he hides nuts?'

So far as we know, the squirrel does not depend on his memory. He usually has one main store of supplies and quite a number of smaller ones. But he could never make a list of all his pantries, However, when fresh food is scarce, he usually can find a place where he has hidden a few nuts.

Supplies are tucked away during summer and fall. Mushrooms and all kinds of seeds and berries are hoarded as well as nuts, The thrifty fellow knows just when to gather mushrooms so they will not go bad,

The main pantry will most likely be a hollow tree close to the family home. This hoard is not likely to be forgotten, Some member of the squirrel family is usually on hand to guard it, For plenty of birds and animals would like to raid a bushel or two of nuts during the hungry season,

Smaller hoards are hidden in holes in the ground, The grey squirrel may dig a hole in an old tree stump, He stuffs in one or two nuts and scampers away. Next day he may dig,a hole under an elm trop root. In go a few nuts and off he goes about his business.

Come fall, the ground is covered‑with snow, Some bright morning Mr. Squirrel comes out to feed and chatter with his neighbors. He finds a few beechnuts growing on a tree. But a woodpecker claims them and drives him away. The time has come to dig into one of his pantries,

The little fellow scampers around searching.  He just knows there must be food hidden around here.  But where is it? The snow has covered the holes he made. It has blanketed the old tree stump and drifted high above the roots of the elm tree.

But this does not worry Mr. Bushy tail one bit, He scampers about with his nose near the ground, And what a nose he has he can smell a nut clear through the snow and way down to the hole in the ground.    He starts to dig with all his might and he was correct, For one, two and three plump butternuts come to light, He sits up and nibbles them daintily  one at a time, And he seems to know on which side the meat is, For he always bites into just the right spot. When the snack is eaten, he trots along. His wonderful nose will help him smell out other hoards,

Some of the small hoards are not found until the next year, Some are never found at all. In time, these nuts may grow into trees. This is fine for Mr. Squirrel. Next summer or the next$ these trees will bear him more nuts to hoard,

Do other squirrels find his pantries? Not often, The squirrel is a real estate owner, or he thinks he is. He stakes out a territory for himself and family. Squirrel neighbors will not often trespass on his property. Sometimes one will come by mistake, but he soon runs off when the rightful owner declares his rights and makes a fuss.