limbs, parties of two or three boys might be seen rushing at full
speed over the wet fields. When the swiftest party reached a
walnut tree, one of the number climbed up rapidly, shook off half
a bushel of nuts and scrambled down again. Then off the boys went
to the next tree, where the process was repeated unless the tree
was occupied by other boys doing likewise. Nut hunters coming to
the tree after the first party had been there, and wishing to
shake the tree some more, were required by custom to pile up all
the nuts that lay under the tree. Until this was done, the
unwritten law did not permit their shaking any more nuts on the
ground.

So far this was a CUSTOM accepted by the boys because of its
reasonableness. But after a while, some members of this boy
community thought to get ahead of the other members. One night
before frost came they secretly went to the woods and took
possession of most of the nut trees by shaking them according to
custom. When this was discovered, some of the leaders of the
community CALLED A MEETING of all the boys. After discussing the
matter thoroughly, they provided against a repetition of the trick
by MAKING A RULE (passing a law) that thereafter the harvesting of
nuts should not begin before A FIXED DATE in October.

These boys acted very much as men have often acted under simple
conditions of community life. The New England "town meeting," for
example, is precisely the same thing as the boys' meeting.

THE SECOND ELEMENT IN DEMOCRACY: CONTROL BY THE PEOPLE

We shall study the organization and methods of lawmaking in later