42 



THE MUSEUM. 



thought that by employing a larger 

 number of traps and extending his 

 range a few miles he might obtain 

 even more. This would indicate that 

 the Otter is fairly common in this vi- 

 cinity at least and since they are but 

 little molested their numbers should be 

 on the increase. 



Mephitis mephitica (Skunk). A 

 very common species. During the 

 past three or four years Mr. White 

 has trapped about" five hundred within 

 a radius of eight or ten miles and they 

 are still abundant. 



Procyon lotor (Raccoon). The 

 Raccoon was at one time common in 

 northeastern Virginia and it is not in- 

 frequently taken now. "Coon hunts" 

 used to be of frequent occurrence in 

 Fauquier county, but with the great 

 decrease in the number of "coons" 

 the practice has been to a great ex- 

 tent abandoned. 



Atalaplia noreboracensis (Red Bat). 

 Every evening numbers of these little 

 bats would appear, flying swiftly about 

 in their search for insects. 



Lepus americanus var. virginianus 

 (Southern Varying Hare). Common 

 all through this section where it is 

 much hunted during the fall and win- 

 ter. 



Ncotoma floridana (Wood Rat). 

 Several were caught in one trap. 

 They appear to be very abundant. 



Fiber zibetJiicus (Muskrat). Very 

 CQmmon along the banks of the 

 streams. 



Sciurus Jiudsonius (Red Squirrel). 

 Mr. White informed me that the Red 

 Squirrel was quite scarce. I did not 

 see any during either of my visits. 



Sciurus niger (Southern Fov Squir- 

 rel). Fairly common, though accord- 

 ing to all accounts it is not nearly as 

 plentiful as it was a few years ago. 



Sciurus carolinensis (Gray Squir- 

 rel). Squirrel hunting is a common 

 sport in Virginia and catching the in- 

 fection I accompanied one of the 

 neighbors on two or three of his trips. 

 Either the squirrels had temporarily 

 left the county or else they were en- 



tirely too shrewd for us as I never had 

 worse luck in any hunt. I believe we 

 secured one squirrel each time and I 

 remember one morning we hunted for 

 several hours without firing a shot, se- 

 curing one squirrel from its hole, some 

 fifty feet up in a large tree, by means 

 of a pliable forked stick. By insert- 

 ing the forked end of the stick into 

 the hole as far as possible and twist- 

 ing it around a few times a hold was 

 obtained on the tail of the squirrel and 

 it was pulled out and brought down. 



At Bee Cottage they had a squirrel 

 of this kind which they had raised by 

 hand from a very young specimen. 

 There was no cage to confine him. 

 He was perfectly free to go. and come 

 when he pleased and he seldom failed 

 to show up at meal time when he 

 would jump from one person to an- 

 other in search of eatables, not infre- 

 quently leaving scratches to show 

 where his sharp claws had struck. 

 Peanuts were an especial delicacy for 

 him. As a rule he was fed with ker- 

 nels of corn though he ate most any- 

 thing of a cereal nature The rapid- 

 ity with which he could take up the 

 corn kernels, eat the germ or "chit" 

 and throw the rest away, was astound- 

 ing. It fairly kept one busy to sup- 

 ply him with fresh ones. He seemed 

 to like to be fondled and would enter 

 into a romp as though he enjoyed it, 

 though if roughly handled he would 

 lose temper and disappear for a half 

 day or more. I believe that "Buz- 

 zer" as we called him has recently left 

 civilization for the woods to fall a vic- 

 tim no doubt to some hunter's gun. 



Sciuropterus volucella (Flying 

 Squirrel). The Flying Squirrel is 

 common They have had several at 

 Bee Cottage for pets, taking them 

 from the nest when very young and 

 raising them by hand. They take 

 readily to a corner of a handkerchief 

 soaked in milk and seem to thrive well 

 m captivity. 



Tamias striatus (Chipmunk) Very 

 common. They are often seen run- 



