SCIURUS nunsnxirs. 213 



cold. \\ r hen fierce storms sweep over the land he retires to his nest, 

 to appear again with the first lull of the wind, be the temperature 

 never so low. I have many times observed him when the thermom- 

 eter ranged from thirty to forty degrees below zero Centigrade (-22 

 to -40 P.), but could never see that he was inconvenienced by the 

 cold. When running upon the snow he often plunges down out of 

 sight, tunnels a little distance, and, reappearing, shakes the snow 

 from his head and body, whisks his tail, and skips along as lightly 

 and with as much apparent pleasure as if returning from a bath in 

 some rippling brook during the heat of a summer's afternoon. 



He possesses the rare and philosophical accomplishment of com- 

 bining work with recreation, and sets about the performance of his 

 self-imposed tasks with such roguish humor that it is a pleasure to 

 watch him. In marked contrast to these free and happy habits is 

 the stealth and sullenness that characterize the actions of some of the 

 Carnivores, notably of the family Mustelidae. 



The Red Squirrel enjoys a game of "tag" even more than the 

 average schoolboy, and one is often startled by a couple of them as 

 they rush madly through the leaves, chasing each other hither and 

 thither over the ground, up and down and around the trunks of trees, 

 and in and out of hollow logs and stumps with a degree of reckless- 

 ness that is astonishing to behold. 



However frivolous the Red Squirrel may appear to the casual 

 observer, he is, nevertheless, a most industrious animal. Unlike 

 most of his associates, and many of our own species, he is not con- 

 tent with the enjoyment of present plenty, but takes pains to provide 

 against a time of future need. When the summer has grown old, 

 and the mellow days of early autumn cast a glow of color over the 

 sumac and woodbine, the prudent Squirrel has commenced to gather 

 the provision for his winter's use. Impatient to make sure his store, 

 he does not wait for the nuts to ripen and fall, but cuts the stems by 

 which they hang, till many lie scattered on the ground below. He 

 then descends and collects them in a heap between, or near, the roots 



