132 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



when they first come down 

 from the trees. In a garden in 

 the country a pair of squirrels 

 had a family every summer for 

 five years, but none ever sur- 

 vived the cats' persistent at- 

 tacks. These squirrels were 

 most amusing and improvi- 

 dent. They used to hide 

 horse-chestnuts, small pota- 

 toes, kernels of stone fruit, 

 bulbs of crocuses, and other 

 treasures in all kinds of places, 

 and then forget them. After 

 deep snows they might be seen 

 scampering about looking into 

 every hole and crevice to see 

 whether that happened to be 

 the place where they bad hid- 

 den something useful. Much of 

 the store was buried among the 

 roots of trees and bushes, and 

 quite hidden when the snow fell. 



P*M1 It If. P. Panjl) [Regent's Part 



DORSAL SQUIRREL FROM CF. NTRAI. AMI RICA 



ei most beautiful species. The main colour is red, but the but t is French gray, and the tail 

 French gray and red mingled. 



The Flying-Squirrels. 



One of the finest squirrels is the Taguan, a large squirrel of India. Ceylon, and the Malacca 

 forests. It is a "flying-squirrel," with a body 2 feet long, and a busby tail of the same length. 

 Being nocturnal, it is not often seen; but when it leaps it unfolds a flap of skin on either side. 

 which is stretched (like a sail) when the fore and bind limbs are extended in the act of leaping: 

 it then forms a parachute. The colour of this squirrel is gray, brown, and pale chestnut. There 

 are a number of different flying-squirrels in China, Formosa, and Japan, and in the forests of 

 Central America. One small flying-squirrel, the Polatouche is found in Northeast Russia 

 and Siberia. It flies from tree to tree with immense bounds, assisted by the "floats" on it- 

 sides. Though only six inches long, it can cover distances of 30 feet and more without diffi- 

 culty. Wherever there are birch 

 forests this little squirrel is found. 



In Africa, south of the Sahara. 

 the place of the < Iriental flying- 

 squirrel is taken by a separate family. 

 They have a different arrangement of 

 the parachute from thai of the flving- 

 squirrels of India. This wide fold 

 of skin is supported in the Asiatic 

 squirrels by a cartilage extending 

 from the wrist. In the South Afri- 

 can flying-squirrels this support 

 springs from the elbow, not from the 

 wrist ; they have also horny plates 



ASIATIC CHIPMUNKS on the "»<1er surface of the tail. 



. , ,., . , . Manv of the tropical flving-snuirrels 



Small ground-squirrels wbicb store food for the winter J I » 1 



