326 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



I never saw a Squirrel dig without finding the buried 

 treasure, though I have often seen him smell without digging. 



This is the habit of the Fox-squirrel and its cousin, the Gray, 

 but not apparently of the Red-squirrel or any of its near kindred. 



In the region of the two former it is probable that 9 nut 

 trees out of 10 owe their planting to some Squirrel. 



At Wyndygoul Park a number of Red and Gray-squirrels 

 have learned to eat from a tray of stuff put out daily in cold 

 weather. The Grays sit down and eat their food where they 

 find it. The Reds carry it away to eat. The Grays lose 

 interest when their bellies are full. The Reds carry away every- 

 thing, storing what they cannot eat. 



The second food supply in winter is mushrooms, chiefly of 

 the genus Russula. If these were to be stored in the same way 

 as the other provisions they would doubtless rot long before 

 they could be of service. The Squirrel stores them in the only 

 available way, that is, in the forked branches of the trees. 

 Here they are safe from the snow that would bury them, from 

 the Deer and Field-mouse that would steal them, and instead 

 of rotting, they dry up and remain in good order until needed. 



I have seen Red-squirrels storing up these mushrooms in 

 the Sandhills south of Chaska Lake, Manitoba, in the Selkirk 

 Mountains, on the Ottawa, and on the upper Yellow- 

 stone River. The Squirrel's sense of private ownership in a 

 mushroom-stored tree is not so clear as its feeling regarding a 

 hoard of nuts it has gathered. 



During early winter in Manitoba I have once or twice seen 

 a Red-squirrel dig down through the snow to some mushroom, 

 still standing where it grew, and there make a meal of it. 



While camped at Caughnawanna, on September 14, 1905, 

 I was witness of a comic display of frugality and temper on the 

 part of a Red-squirrel. A heavy footfall on the leaves had 

 held me still to listen. Then appeared a Chickaree labouring 

 hard to drag an enormous mushroom. Presently it caught in a 

 branch, and the savage jerk he gave to free it resulted in the 

 "handle" coming off. The Squirrel chattered and scolded, 

 then seized the disc, but again had the misfortune to break 



