Habits of the American Flying Squirrel. 571 



evening run ; but, after three weeks' or a month's confine- 

 ment, they were allowed to come out again, and we were 

 much amused at the constant running round, and the anxiety 

 they were in, when they found their stores gone. As soon 

 as tea was brought in, they again stole the sugar, but hid it 

 in the corners of the room, under the carpet, and behind the 

 books. 



In March of the second year, I found, one day, just 

 after the squirrel's cage had been cleaned, one young one : 

 whether there had been more, which had been thrown away, 

 I do not know ; but that one we reared, and he lived for 

 some years. I then had an opportunity of procuring two 

 more pairs, which, after some fighting, lived very contentedly 

 with the three already in possession of the cage. 



I found the males were often inclined to be amorous, but 

 the females only appeared to be so in the spring. The 

 males certainly did not seem to be very exclusive in their 

 attentions, nor can I say that they ever were really paired, 

 though I thought the females seemed to have their favourites. 

 Whether they really pair in the wild state, I do not know. 

 I found that as soon as the female was pregnant, she would 

 not allow any one to approach her; and as the time went on, 

 she became more savage, and more tenacious of the part of 

 the cage which she had fixed upon for her nest, which she 

 made of hurds put in for the purpose. Two of the females 

 produced young last spring. I think the period of their 

 gestation is a month ; but of this fact I am not certain. The 

 young are blind for three weeks after their birth, and do not 

 reach puberty till the next spring. I never obtained more 

 than two young ones at a time, nor more than one kindle in 

 a year from the same female. The young were generally 

 born in March or April. The female has five teats on each 

 side, which appear through the fur some time before she 

 brings forth. One of the females produced two young ones 

 without making a distinct nest, or separating herself from the 

 rest; but the consequence was, that they disappeared on the 

 third day. 



If on any occasion we disturbed the young in their nest, 

 the mother removed them to another part of the cage. The 

 common squirrel of this country is said to remove her young 

 in the same manner, if disturbed. Finding this the case, we 

 often took the young squirrels out of their nest, for the pur- 

 pose of watching the mother carry them away, which she 

 did by doubling the little one up under her body with her 

 fore feet and mouth till she could take hold of the hind 

 thigh and the neck, when she would jump away so fast that 



