WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



plane upon the parachute formed by the loose skin 

 of their sides, which reaches to the feet and is ex- 

 tended by their outstretched legs. 



Some hollow of an old tree-trunk gives them a 

 home — preferably the snug chamber cut years be- 

 fore by a woodpecker; but sometimes they choose 

 a cranny among rocks, or, more often nowadays, 

 take possession of a garden bird-box or a nook be- 

 neath the eaves or inside the garret of a house. 

 They will, indeed, make themselves exceedingly 

 at home anywhere about the premises when en- 

 couraged, a privilege careful housekeepers are 

 chary of granting after a little experience of the 

 mischief their inquisitive teeth may do to furni- 

 ture, upholstery, and hangings, not to speak of 

 the cheerful racket they keep up when a lot of them 

 become colonized in the attic and walls, just at the 

 time when other folks like to have the house quiet. 

 They do drive away all the mice, however. 



Flying - squirrels feed mainly on thin -shelled 

 nuts, acorns, seeds, and small fruits, such as they 

 can gather without leaving the tree-tops, and seem 

 to drop about three for every one they secure. In- 

 sects attract them, and, sad to say, they also eat 

 the eggs and young of birds, for they have a liking 

 for meat, and often plague fur-trappers by devour- 



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