358 FOUB-FOOTED AMERICANS 



" He uses his paws like hands," cried Dodo. "• See 

 how he pats and scratches to cover the nut, and curls 

 his tail over his back. Now he has gone in the wheel 

 for a race. He is ever so tame ; how long have you had 

 him, Rap ? " 



" Only about a week. Gray Squirrels grow tame ver}^ 

 quick, but you must be careful they don't bite you. 

 One nipped my hand almost through, a couple of years 

 ago, when I put it into his nest." 



" Then they live in holes, too," said Nat ; " they must 

 need quite big ones." 



" Yes, and they build great wide tree nests, too, for I 

 climbed up to what I thought was a Crow's nest one 

 year, and it had four queer little blind Squirrels in it. 

 They took ever so long to grow, nearly three months, 

 and after that I used to see the old ones sleeping in the 

 nest in daytime. They seem to go out most morning 

 and night." 



"Do they sleep in winter?" asked Dodo. 



" I'm not sure," said Rap ; " sometimes I've seen them 

 in the winter and sometimes I luive not." 



" It depends upon the weather," said the Doctor. 

 '' The Gray Squirrel does not really hibernate^ but stays 

 curled up in bad weather like the Red Squirrel, just as 

 in very cold places he nests in a hole ; in a medium 

 climate he uses either a hole or tree nest, and further 

 south usually a tree nest. One remarkable thing about 

 him is that instead of storing his food in piles, or filling 

 rock or tree hollows, he makes a separate cache for each 

 nut, and exactly how he finds the place again, the very 

 wisest of Wise Men is not sure. Some say it is by a 

 keen sense of smell, others a good memory. For myself. 



