186 1>R- ROBERT BELL ON 



The wide geographical rauge of the Chickaree, as referred to by Dr. Bell in the 

 Appendix, of itself indicates great power to adapt itself to circumstances requiring intelli- 

 gence ; and it has been shewn abundantly, in this paper, how the Eed Squirrel can 

 accommodate itself to new conditions and cope with emergencies. 



To what, then, is the superior intelligence of this species due ? In my opinion, partly 

 to the fact that he has benefited by proximity to civilisation. While the Black Squirrel 

 (Sciurus nio-er) seeks the depths of the forest, the Red Squirrel keeps near, by preference, to 

 the abodes of man. Among rodents, none, perhaps, excels the domestic rat in general 

 intellio-ence, a fact to be ascribed to this same human contact. Indeed, there is, perhaps, 

 no o-roup of animals that has long been near man that has not been more or less elevated 

 in the scale of intelligence as a consequence ; which, in turn, shews that the intellect of 

 brutes cannot be wholly different from that of man. The applicability of this explanation 

 to the squirrels is not so obvious as in the case of some other animals. The superior 

 intelligence of the Red Squirrel is doubtless the resultant of a complex of factors which 

 we can but imperfectly unravel ; but from what I have observed as the result of actual 

 experiment, I am forced to conclude that this creature can readily adapt itself so as to 

 overcome the obstacles and avail of the advantages of man's civilisation ; and I see no 

 reason why, as a consequence of ages of inheritance of such naturally increasing capacity 

 of adaptation or its results, the general intelligence of the species might not be raised. 

 Such, however, probably constitutes but one element of a complete explanation. 



APPENDIX. 



On the Chickaree or Red Squirrel (Sciun/s Hndsonins, Pennant). 



By Dr. Bell, Greological Survey, Ottawa. 



GEOGRAPmcAL DISTRIBUTION. — East of the Eocky Mountains, the Chickaree ranges northward to 

 near the verge of the foi-ests, or to a line drawn from Fort Churchill, on the west coast of Hudson 

 Bay, to the mouth of Mackenzie River, and throughout the Labrador Peninsula, except the Barren 

 Grounds, which form its northern part. It is also common in Alaska. The rutbus variety, univer- 

 sally known as the Red Squirrel, is abundant throughout the Canadian provinces and the northern, 

 eastern and middle states, extending farthest south along the Alleghany Mountains, or into Alabama. 

 In the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific side, the varieties Sciurus Douglassi and S. Fremonti take 

 the place of the more widely distributed form. An animal which can maintain a cheerful existence 

 over such a continental area, must necessarily be capable of adapting itself to a great variety of 

 circumstances, as to climate, food, etc. The following notes will relate to the Chickaree in his more 

 northern haunts. 



Pood. Northward of the zone of butternuts, beech-nuts, etc., the hazel extends a long way — say, 



to a line drawn from Lake St. John (on the Saguenay) to Lake Athabasca, curving southward of 

 James and Hudson Bays — and affords a largo proportion of their food. Besides eating them 

 constantly during the autumn, they store up considerable quantities for use later on. 



But the seeds of the black and the white spruce constitute their grand staple in the north. By 

 glancing at the map, it will be seen that the extent of territory in which the spruces abound, to the 



