THE SQUIRREL. 355 



When wild, squirrels are said never to resort to the streams for 

 water, but quench their thirst by sipping the dew and rain that 

 collects on the leaves or in the hollows of trees; when domesti- 

 cated, they drink freely and often : this may be occasioned by the 

 difference in diet, as the sweets they eat in confinement will pro- 

 duce a thirst in any animal. 



OTHER CHARACTERISTICS. 



"In the spring the squirrels shed their hair, w^hich is replaced 

 by a thinner and less furry coat ; during summer their tails are 

 narrower and less feathery than in autumn, when they either re- 

 ceive an entirely new coat or a very great accession of fur. At this 

 season, also, the outer surfaces of the ears are more thickly and 

 prominently clothed with fur than in the spring and autumn." 



Some species of squirrels breed twice in the course of the spring 

 and summer months; they all have several at a litter. In the 

 northern latitudes, where the earth is shrouded for months in a 

 chilling mantle of snow, the various species of squirrels indigenous 

 to these inhospitable climes retire to their secure retreats, either 

 in the ground, or in the fissures of rocks or holloAvs of trees, where, 

 surrounded by their winter store, they pass the time in a state of 

 sluggish and benumbed existence, not very far removed from the 

 dormancy observable in many other quadrupeds. Some varieties, to 

 a certain extent, live in communities, more especially during the 

 time they pass in their winter quarters. Several species have 

 cheek-pouches, in Avhich they can stow away an incredible quantity 

 of nuts and seeds. 



