y\0 RODENTIA. 



til\% it drags tlicm into :i licap, covers tiiem with lca\cs till l!ie thick 

 outer covering lidls oii or opens, and then carries off tiic nuts more con- 

 vcnientI3^ But even if these stores of nuts fail, the Chickaree can live 

 on the cones of the pine and fir-tree. In the southern pait of New York, 

 and in nioi-f Southern States, it is satisfied with a hollow tree lor its 

 winter residence, but in Northern New York, Massachusetts, Canada, 

 and further north, it digs deep burrows in the earth. It can swim and 

 dive moderately well. 



The LoNG-KARliD Squirrkl, Sciiinis macroUts (Plate LVI), is a 

 remarkable species found in Borneo. Its title is not due to the length 

 of the ears, but to the very long hair-tufts with which these organs are 

 decorated. This fringe of hair is about two inches in length, of a glossy 

 blackish-brown coloi-, and still in texture. The color of the back and 

 exterior f)f the limbs is a rich chestnut-brown, which fades into |)aler 

 fawn along the flanks, and is marked by a single dark longitudinal stripe, 

 extending from the fore to the hinder limbs. This dark band is narrow 

 at each end, hut ol some widlli in the centre. The inside of the lind)s is 

 a pale chestnut, and the paws are jetty black. The tail is remarkably 

 bushy, reminding the spectator of a fox's " brush," and is generally of the 

 same color as the back, but grizzled with yellowish-white hairs, which are 

 thickly sown among those of the darker hue. 



The two following genera comprise the Flying Squirrels. Their 

 common character consists in their being ])rovitled with wing-like mem- 

 branes, extending along the (lanks between the lore and hind legs. These 

 membranes are covered with hair, and form regular parachutes, which 

 enable them to sustain themselves in the air longer than the rest of the 

 family, and thus perform extraordinary leaps. 



GENUS SCIUROPTERUS. 



This genus is divided into sixtcot to niiuiccn species, and comprises 

 the Flat-tailed Flying .S(|uirrels, which range from Lapland and Finland 

 to North China and Japan, and southward through India and Ceylon, to 

 Malacca and Java ; while in North America they occur from Labrador 

 to British Columbia, and south to Minnesota and California. 



The Flying Squirri-:i,, Scinroptcrus volncdla, may be taken as a typ- 

 of the genus. It is called also the Assapan. It is the smallest of all the 

 squirrels, measuring, tail and all, only about nine inches in length. Its 



